Poe bats for debate on Road Board abolition at bicam session

LEGAZPI CITY—Senator Grace Poe on Thursday said she welcomed the abolition of the Road Board provided certain amendments proposed by both Senate and the House of Representatives would be opened for discussion and debate at the bicameral session.

Poe said it was a welcome development that both the Senate and the House have agreed in “principle” to abolish the Road Board.

She said, however, that at the bicameral sessions, she would strictly review the specific provision that would show where the tax revenue would be channeled.

The proposed amendments would be subject for debate that would conform to the specific differences proposed by the Senate and the House, Poe said in an ambush interview here.

“I would ask for the project details where the road tax funds would go, how much fund allocations was poured into it,” she said.

Poe held a gift-giving event on Thursday for hundreds of families in four coastal villages here affected by flooding spawned by Tropical Depression “Usman” Dec. 29 last year.

She hoped that the Road Board abolition proposal at the bicameral committee would be passed next week and subsequently be submitted to President Duterte for approval.

On Wednesday, House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. said he met with his counterpart, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Tuesday night and came up with “short and simple” amendments to the proposed measure that would abolish the Road Board and ensure the proper use of its fund, officially known as the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge. /lzb