By Vanne Terrazola
The Senate will be investigating next week the new traffic scheme proposed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) whose dry run worsened the sorry state of traffic in EDSA.
Senator Grace Poe (ROY DOMINGO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Senator Grace Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services, on Thursday said a legislative inquiry on the MMDA's proposed provincial bus ban along EDSA will be held on Tuesday, August 13, as she demanded an explanation from transport officials on the gridlock that commuters experienced in the last few days.
“Bakit ginagawa tayong parang science project, puro eksperimento, habang taumbayan naman ang nagdurusa (Why are we being treated like a science project, an experiment, while our countrymen suffer)?” Poe said in a statement.
“Matinding kalbaryo na naman ang nararanasan ng ating mga kababayang dumadaan sa EDSA. Maniningil tayo ng paliwanag at hindi natin palalagpasin ang kailangang managot sa kaguluhang ito,” she vowed.
(Our commuters in EDSA have again suffered. We will ask for an explanation and we will not let those responsible for this mess get off the hook.)
In calling for the Senate inquiry, Poe said the agencies should consider motorists and commuters before implementing such traffic schemes and policies should consider both vehicles and people.
She said the proposed provincial bus ban should be scrutinized, especially amid public clamor and legal challenges.
The MMDA decided to push through with the dry run of its provincial bus ban plan on Wednesday despite a Quezon City court's order to halt its implementation. Its officials said this was because they have yet to receive a copy of the order.
Bus operators and companies have opposed the plan, requiring them to close down their terminals along EDSA and their units to pick-up and drop passengers in designated endpoints.
"We will thresh out all these issues in a productive dialogue where all stakeholders will have a voice and will be part of the solution,” she said.
Representatives from the MMDA, Department of Transportation, local government units, as well as commuter groups were invited to the public hearing.