INCOMING Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade on Monday urged President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to kick him out of office if he fails to solve Metro Manila’s traffic gridlock.
“If I fail after two years, you kick me out because I’m useless,” Tugade told ABS-CBN.
He says his priorities include eradicating corruption within his department, prohibiting tardiness and glum demeanor.
Duterte on Saturday admitted he could not solve the long-festering traffic problems in Metro Manila unless Congress gave him emergency powers.
Tugade said he would be asking Congress to give Duterte emergency powers. He would also be continuing the Aquino administration’s program to phase out old public utility vehicles.
He would give priority to easing the congestion at the airports, installing Wi-Fi routers at the sea ports and creating a printing office for driver’s licenses and vehicle plates.
He would also be studying buying cable cars and double-decker buses, the continuation of the bus rapid transit program and the modernization of the rail system.
He would also be drafting a 30-year transportation road map.
The proposed emergency powers for Duterte include favoring direct contracting over public biddings for transportation-related projects, opening private subdivision roads to traffic, and removing transport terminals and public markets on busy highways.
Several lawmakers have expressed support for such emergency powers but underscored the need to study how much of those Duterte should have and for how long.
