(Eagle News)–The Senate has set an inquiry into the traffic gridlock on Edsa that brought problems to motorists and commuters on Wednesday, Aug. 7, amid the strict implementation of the yellow lane for buses and the dryrun for the provincial bus ban.
In a statement, Senator Grace Poe, chair of the Committee on Public Services, said the public hearing was slated on Tuesday, August 13, at 10 a.m.
She said transport officials will be invited to the hearing.
“Kung nagpatupad ng polisiya, bakit kalunos-lunos ang paglala ng trapik?” Poe said.
According to Poe, the policies should be scrutinized, especially since some have challenged them before the courts.
The Nagkakaisang Samahan ng Nangangasiwa ng Panlalawigang Bus sa Pilipinas Inc. and 16 other bus operators have asked a Quezon City court to halt the implementation of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Memorandum Circular No. 2019-001 and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Regulation No. 19-002 that impose the provincial bus ban and bans the issuance of business permits to provincial bus terminals along EDSA.
Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 223 Judge Caridad Walse-Lutero granted the plea of the group in an order dated July 31, but the MMDA said it would push through with the dryrun since it had not yet received a copy of the court-issued writ of preliminary injunction.
“We will thresh out all these issues in a productive dialogue where all stakeholders will have a voice and will be part of the solution,” Poe said.
