‘Give Duterte emergency powers to solve Metro traffic’

CITING a six-hour commuting “kalbaryo” for Metro Manila commuters, the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) has reiterated its call for President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to declare a traffic crisis so that he could be given emergency powers to solve the problem.

Speaking at “The Future of Transportation” panel discussion in Taguig City, MAP gov. Eduardo Yap said that people were “getting impatient” over the traffic situation in the metropolis. “People cannot wait for too long,” he added, referring to ongoing infrastructure projects that would take years to complete.

Yap noted that the inconvenience caused by the traffic problem was too much with commuters spending four to six hours on their daily commute.

“They are enduring that every day and this cannot continue,” he said. He also claimed that more than 60 percent of Metro residents were aspiring to own a car because of the “present reality.”

Last month, the group highlighted the need for an immediate solution to the traffic problem in the metropolis. It noted that traffic congestion was continuously affecting businesses, the quality of life and the economy.

“There must be an issuance of an executive order to declare that a transportation and traffic crisis exists in Metro Manila and, with the concurrence of Congress, secure emergency powers for the President to address the crisis by mobilizing all government resources and undertaking necessary measures unhampered by appointment, procurement, budgetary and Commission on Audit regulations during its presidency,” MAP said in a statement.

Yap said that the emergency powers may last for a limited time like a maximum of two years so that the traffic crisis could be immediately solved. The group has also suggested some solutions to the so-called “carmageddon” in Manila like the construction of steel bridges on intersections and the appointment of a traffic czar. –Maricar B. Brizuela