Poe: Senate to start hearings on emergency powers for Duterte

The Senate committee on public services is planning to start next week its hearings on several measures granting emergency powers to President Rodrigo Duterte to address the worsening traffic problem in Metro Manila and other areas.

“Tinitingnan namin ng Wednesday. Nagpadala na kami ng invitation,” Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the committee, told Senate reporters on Wednesday.

Invited to the hearing are officials of the Metro Manila Development Authority and the Department of Transportation, among others.

Poe said the hearing would be conducted to find out if emergency powers were needed and how the government intended to address the problem.

“Kasi ang gusto ko dapat patas, mabilis at transparent para pagdating ng bidding, hindi naman pwedeng sabihing walang bidding na lang. Kung merong bidding mabilis, pero dapat yung bidding maayos,” she said.

“Hindi pwedeng wala kang track record, biglang maggagagawa ka ng kalsada o kaya nagre-repair ka ng train, wala ka man lang experience, so ‘yun mga bagay na mamadaliin natin,” the senator added.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has filed a bill at the House of Representatives that seeks to give the President emergency powers to do away, among others, with the mandatory bidding on procurement of transportation equipment and take over errant transport franchises to solve the traffic mess on roads and airports in Metro Manila and Cebu.

READ: Superbody to handle traffic

Poe reiterated her promise to fast-track the committee’s deliberations on the proposed emergency powers.

“Natapos natin yung Mamasapano ng mabilis naman, sa tingin ko naman kung araw-araw natin matatapos agad ‘yan. Hindi naman siguro araw araw, mga every three days,” she said.

The senator was referring to the Mamasapano incident investigated by the Senate committee on public order, which she chaired during the 16th Congress.

READ: Poe to fast-track bill giving Duterte crisis powers to fix traffic