Senate to Palace: Explain junking of resolution vs fare hikes

The Palace should explain President Aquino’s decision to ignore a resolution in the Senate urging him to exercise his prerogative to suspend the implementation of impending price increases in the transport sector, opposition Sen. Joker Arroyo said yesterday.

“You cannot (just) disregard (the position taken by) 13 senators. That is the majority of the Senate. They cannot just treat it like that, for Malacanang to dismiss outright our resolution,” Sen. Joker Arroyo said.

“What’s the merit of the resolution of the Senate? The resolution is a polite way of telling the Executive that they should reconsider this (plan). What’s wrong with that kind of resolution? Malacañang should explain where we erred,” the senator said.

Arroyo was referring to Senate resolution 602, initiated by him along with Senators Manuel Villar Jr. and a known strong Aquino ally, Sen. Ralph Recto, and ably supported by nine other colleagues that included the three key leaders of the upper chamber, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada and Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III.

Support to the resolution, expressing the sense of the Senate on the deferment of the implementation of the fare increases of Light Rail and Metro Rail Transit (LRT-MRT) and the imposition of the 12 percent value-added tax (VAT) on expressway tolls in the country beginning Oct. 1, continue to snowball over the weekend with three other upper chamber members joining the bandwagon, so to speak.

The latest to join the demand for

the suspension of the toll and fare increases were Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Minority Leader Alan Cayetano.

Arroyo pointed out that the government has enough resources to sustain the commuters’ subsidy on the fare of LRT-MRT “but they’re not spending it.”

“But that’s another controversy. They don’t want to talk about it anyway. But the Senate, it’s going out of its way (to help the administration and the public). I think we deserve an explanation, a little more consideration,” Arroyo said.

The senator could only hope that Malacanang will try to listen to the upper chamber this time, especially since more than majority of them are of the opinion that the timing is not right and that there are other avenues that the Executive could exhaust at this time so as not to aggravate the situation of the overburdened public.

“If this is the attitude being displayed by Malacanang, we have an opinion and they will dismiss it just like that, what kind of a relationship is that?

“Congressmen and senators are out there as representatives of the people. They know the pulse of the people. Malacanang solely not knows the pulse of the people. (This kind of) attitude (they’re showing) is very unhealthy. It’s like they’re saying that ‘this our position, period.’ They cannot just say that we misconstrued (the situation) because we deliberated upon this (ourselves) for awhile before we came out with a resolution,” he said.

“Most of those who signed are allies of the President. Out of the (sitting) 23 (members), 20 are pro-administration and yet, they couldn’t care less. What does this mean? That these senators do not have voice? No participation?,” Arroyo asked.

“The Senate (is proving to be) more statesman-like than Malacanang. The Senate will consider every (Palace-backed) bill on its merits but it will not avenge on Malacanang. The Senate with 20 senators allied with the President is not like that,” he said.

The senator pointed out that the Executive cannot dismiss the fact that everywhere in the world, mass railway systems are subsidized by government.

“Throughout the world, the (operations of the) trains are subsidized by the government. Let’s accept the fact on the need for subsidy. They should study this matter carefully,” warned Arroyo.

Revilla, chairman of the Senate public services committee, couldn’t agree more to the issues raised by Arroyo as he expressed support to the said resolution.

“As chairman of the Senate committee on public services, I reiterate my strong opposition to the impending fare increase on the mass rail transit system in Metro Manila.

“It could be recalled that I had already expressed my full support to the Senate Resolution that would urge the President to suspend the implementation of fare hike on the MRT and LRT even before it was officially tackled in the session. –Angie M. Rosales, Daily Tribune