PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos allowed to lapse into law some 40 bills passed by the 18th Congress, while using the presidential veto power against five bills that he felt were not properly crafted by the representatives and senators.
Of the five bills, the veto on enrolled House Bill 9030/Senate Bill 1077 that would have created the Philippine Transportation Safety Board (PTSB) elicited the most disappointment from various groups.
Ray Junia, a member of the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) and founder of Road Users Protection Advocates (RUPA), lamented that “a bill takes years to pass and given to the President for his final action but it takes days for a small group to shoot it down.”
‘Since these investigators are also regulators/operators of the transport industry, there is an obvious conflict of interest in the two functions.’
Junia agreed with Sen. Grace Poe that if only the President’s review team perused the measure well, they would find out that there is no duplication of functions written in the bill, the reason given by the Palace for the rejection. “If you look at the numbers of deaths from accidents, maritime and roads, there is reason to worry about our safety when we step out of the house,” he said.
Last week, the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) in the Philippines, composed of seven foreign business groups, joined the Safe Travel Alliance and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in criticizing the veto.
The JFC noted that various agencies handle different sectors of transportation with regard to accident investigations. As pointed out by critics, probers are often at a loss in finding forensic evidence on the real cause of the accidents. Since these investigators are also regulators/operators of the transport industry, there is an obvious conflict of interest in the two functions.
The vetoed bill proposed the creation of an independent body to be the lead agency responsible for the conduct of impartial and science-based investigation on transportation-related accidents.
The statement was approved by the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, International Air Transport Association, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, Inc., Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc., Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters, Inc., and Safe Travel Alliance.
With such organizations behind the criticism of the presidential veto of the transport safety bill, perhaps the Palace and Congress should at least read and consider their position, for future action.
