(Eagle News) — Senator Koko Pimentel on Friday, Dec. 21, confirmed President Rodrigo Duterte indeed wants the Road Board abolished.
According to Pimentel, the chief executive told this to him during Senator Manny Pacquiao’s 40th birthday celebration in General Santos.
“..President Duterte called for me and told me in very categorical terms that ‘we should abolish the road board’,” Pimentel said.
He said he told Duterte that the Senate, under Pimentel’s leadership then, already passed a bill for that purpose, and the House approved its own version under then-Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
The House, under now-Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, however, rescinded its previous approval of the version, but not before the Senate adopted the House version approved during Alvarez’s time, thus doing away with the need for a bicameral conference committee to reconcile the versions of the measure of both houses of Congress.
The Senate said it would therefore transmit the measure calling for the abolition of the Road Board to President Duterte’s office for his approval.
“Hence, this incident should be clearly indicative of President Duterte’s desire to abolish the Road Board. The President wants the Road Board abolished!” Pimentel said.
Earlier, House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. said Duterte does not want the Road Board abolished, and only wanted a “restructuring” of the same.
But the Palace reiterated Duterte did want the abolition, noting that the body, which determines where the motor vehicle users’ charge paid for by Filipinos upon registration of their vehicles goes, had been tainted with corruption.
“I will quote him, exact words. He said ‘Day 1, I was already against this road user’s tax because ginagamit lang, ginagawa lang gatasan ng mga corrupt na mga pulitiko,’” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.
