The Senate will not let the ban on drivers-only vehicles on Edsa pass without public scrutiny.
After calling for the immediate suspension of the ban, Senator Grace Poe is gearing towards conducting hearings on the issue as chairperson of the Senate committee on public services.
Taking the floor on Wednesday, Poe lamented the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) failure to conduct public hearings before implementing the ban.
Also on Wednesday, the MMDA began the weeklong ban on solo riders on Edsa during rush hours.
“The MMDA didn’t make sure that the inner city and barangay roads, as well as the main thoroughfares all around Metro Manila, aside from Edsa, can handle the affected motorists,” Poe said.
“They didn’t have the courtesy even to call for a public hearing on this. Then all of a sudden, even without much warning or public information, they came up with this regulation.”
The senator reiterated that the “hellish” traffic on Edsa would just be replicated on inner roads once the driver-only car ban on the major thoroughfare is fully implemented.
READ: Poe: Don’t rush ban on driver-only cars on Edsa
“Aalisin mo nga sa EDSA, ililipat mo naman sa ibang mga kalsada na hindi pa naman handa,” she lamented.
Road projects, she said, must be finished first before imposing an “arbitrary” policy.
“Then maybe by that time, we can start talking HOV…” Poe said, referring to MMDA’s policy called expanded high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.
In a separate statement, Poe said she will schedule a public hearing on the approved resolution in the Senate, calling for the suspension of the ban. /vvp
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