The House Committee on Transportation on Wednesday approved the consolidated bills pushing for the establishment of safe pathways network of bicycle lanes and slow streets for the benefit of the public wishing to use alternative modes of transportation.

The panel, chaired by First District Samar Rep. Edgar Sarmiento, moved for the consolidation and subsequent approval House Bills Nos. 8598, 8688, and 8697. The members of the committee eventually adopted the motion.

The Senate has approved its own version of the bill, the proposed Safe Pathways Act, on third and final reading, last Feb. 1, 2021.

House lawmakers who filed the proposed law included Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda, and Rep. ‘Kuya’ Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado.

Prior to committee’s approval, Taguig City Rep. Ma. Laarni Cayetano, sponsor of House Bill No. 8598, stressed the need to fill the gaps in society which was made evident during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One of those gaps is transportation,” Cayetano said during the House panel’s hybrid hearing.

Cayetano said a 2015 study of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the then Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) shows that in Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces, only 11.5 percent of households are car owners.

“This goes to show that majority of the population are reliant on public transportation,” Cayetano said.

“Hence, when the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) halted the operations of all types of public transport, this resulted in a struggle for frontliners and all Filipinos who needed to go to work, to go to grocery stores, to hospitals and other places they need to be,” she pointed out.

“This has also led us to realize that our current public transportation options are insufficient to address the needs of our citizens,” she further said.

She said it is imperative for Congress to consider alternative modes of transportation that are efficient, safe and convenient amid the pandemic.

“With this bill that was also pushed by Sen. Pia Cayetano in the Senate, we hope to establish safe pathways for non-motorized vehicles which includes bicycle lanes, and slow streets,” she said.

The bill she said also provides for health facilities roads, which will connect and provide safe access to healthcare workers to hospitals and other health centers.

Cayetano also stressed the urgency of the passage of the bill into law since it coincides with the opening of the Philippine economy and easing of restrictions while the threat of contracting the COVID-19 is continuing.