Recto: Higher MVUC should guarantee better, safer roads

MANILA, Philippines — Higher Motor Vehicle User’s Charge (MVUC) should guarantee better and safer roads, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said Saturday.

Recto called for the government’s disclosure of where the funds are spent amid proposals to double the road users’ tax.

“There is also another thing that government must not forget: The duty to disclose where Motor Vehicle User Charge (MVUC) payments are spent,” Recto said in a statement.

“These should be funded by what motorists pay for the privilege to drive their cars on roads. The MVUC is supposed to be plowed back to them, in terms of better and safe roads,” he added.

Recto also stressed the need to use part of MVUC collections for projects that would guarantee pedestrian safety near schools.

“Through widened roads, ample sidewalks, elevated walkways, and marked pedestrian lanes, we can create a ‘kid-safe zone’ around the schools and colleges where 25 million people, or one fourth of our population, go to daily,” Recto said.

“We need engineering interventions that will wrap a protective cocoon around where our children spend most of their day,” he added.

Meanwhile, funds from the MVUC amounting to P57 billion is not yet included in the proposed national budget for 2020, hence could not be released and utilized next year, as earlier revealed during the Department of Public Works and Highways Senate budget hearing.

READ: P57-B MVUC fund not included in 2020 national budget