(Eagle News) – Malacanang said that President Rodrigo Duterte is still intent to abolish the Road Board for alleged anomalies in its appropriation of the P45 billion road users’ funds, even if the lower House under the leadership of House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had backtracked from the previous House leadership’s position on the Board’s abolition.
Palace Spokesperson Salvador Panelo told reporters that President Duterte is just waiting for the copy of the signed bill to be forwarded to him. He said he will sign it “as soon as it is given to him.”
Panelo also said that Duterte wants the P45 billion road users’ funds under the Road Board to be returned to the treasury, amid reports that the funds had been a source of corruption for some lawmakers.
“Yes. That’s what is needed. We want the funds be returned to the treasury and let Congress appropriate again for a specific purpose,” Panelo said.
The Board is in charge of the proceeds from the road user’s tax, also known as the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge (MVUC) which every motorist pays upon registration of a vehicle.
Unlike other funds, the road user’s funds under the Road Board is not required to have itemized allocations for approval and its disbursement is said to be upon the discretion of the Board.
House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez defended the Road Board saying that it was not authorized to identify projects to be funded by the MVUC, allegedly because this power was solely given to the implementing agencies.
-Sotto: Senate to transmit bill even without GMA’s signature-
The Senate is intent in passing the copy of the bill, previously passed by Congress under the leadership of former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, for the President’s signature.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III threatened to submit to Malacañang a copy of the bill abolishing the Road Board even if there is no signature of Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
“As far as we are concerned, (the Road Board) is abolished,” Sotto said on Tuesday, December 18.
It was in September that the Senate passed and adopted the House version of the bill approved under the then leadership of Speaker Alvarez.
But barely an hour after this Senate ratification and adoption of the House bill, the lower House led by Arroyo recalled the House approval of the measure.
The Senate had already passed a resolution passed last week urging the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) not to release at least P45 billion in collections from the motor vehicle users’ charge (MVUC) administered by the board.
The bill was already reportedly received by the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office.
The P45-billion road user’s tax funds are reportedly at the heart of the controversy why lawmakers are pushing President Rodrigo Duterte to reconsider the appointment of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno.
Diokno had said that he had already received instructions from the President not to release any money to the Road Board because he wanted it to be abolished.
Akbayan Rep. Tom Villarin said in a statement that it is “an overstretch” if House Speaker Arroyo and her allies would still want to pick a quarrel with the Palace by insisting on the retention of the Road Board.
“If indeed Speaker Arroyo and her allies want it retained and badly so that it needs to pick a quarrel with Malacañang, it is an overstretch,” Villarin said.
He said the Road Board was under the executive branch and so its abolition was the Palace’s prerogative.
-Suarez defends Road Board-
But Minority leader Quezon Rep. Suarez continued to defend the Board, and said that it should not be abolished.
“If you abolish the Road Board, then you will lose dedicated funds to address pollution, road safety and the control of traveling vehicles,” he said.
Suarez said that the House minority “believes in the purpose and usefulness of the Road Board and the MVUC, in the maintenance of road safety and improvement of road conditions.
It was former House Speaker Alvarez which revealed that Road Board officials and certain lawmakers were allegedly conspiring on the allocation of road users’ funds, and that they allegedly extort money from some contractors for commissions equivalent to up to 40 percent of the total project cost.
Alvarez said lawmakers had been conspiring with Road Board officials to extort from handpicked contractors commissions equivalent to 30-40 percent of the total project cost.
“This translates to billions of pesos collected from Road Board money,” said Alvarez.
Suarez, however, denied allegations by Alvarez that the Road Board was laden with corruption.
“I don’t know where the former speaker got that information. It’s not the House that controls the billions in funds of the board. It’s Secretary Diokno, Secretary Carlos Dominguez (of finance), Secretary Arthur Tugade (of transportation), Secretary Mark Villar (of public works and highways) and other Cabinet members sitting in the board,” he said.
Suarez added: “It is these Cabinet members who should be blamed, not us, because we have nothing to do with those funds.”
-2017 COA report discovers Road Board anomalies-
In 2017, the Commission on Audit, in its 2017 annual audit of the Road Board, had lamented about delays in programmed projects costing around P10.25 billion.
“Out of the 391 programmed projects for CY 2017, 122 projects costing P3,693,507,726.61 are still on-going, 78 projects costing P1,457,525,203.01 have not been started while 106 projects costing P3,738,548,564.38 were not yet implemented/obligated due to the slow procurement process and failure to adequately coordinate with other government agencies and public utility corporations at the early planning stage of project implementation,” the audit agency reported.
It said then that 121 other programmed projetcs in previous years which were granted a total budget of nearly P1.316 billion had not been started.
“Thus the public was deprived of the benefits from well-maintained and sufficiently lit roads with adequate road signages and accessible overpasses,” the COA report said.
It also criticized the Road Board for failing to “efficiently and effectively” implement the P3.97-billion National Road Lighting Program.