Senate to Probe EDSA Provincial Bus Ban

The Senate Committee on Public Services is set to look into the proposed provincial bus ban along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) on Tuesday next week, August 13.

In a statement, Senator Grace Poe, panel chair, said transport officials would be invited to explain the traffic that has choked the busy highway despite the test run of the provincial bus ban, which was meant to ease congestion.

"Matinding kalbaryo na naman ang nararanasan ng ating mga kababayang dumadaan sa EDSA. Maniningil tayo ng paliwanag at hindi natin palalagpasin ang kailangang managot sa kaguluhang ito (Filipinos are enduring great hardship as they traverse along EDSA. We would demand an explanation and we won’t let those who are accountable to get away with this mess)," Poe said.

Poe said the traffic gridlock reportedly came amid the implementation of the yellow lane for buses and the dry run for the provincial bus ban on EDSA.

"Kung nagpatupad ng polisiya, bakit kalunos-lunos ang paglala ng trapik? (If such policy was implemented, then why is the worsening of the traffic problem so lamentable?)," Poe said.

Poe said the proposed scheme should be thoroughly scrutinized, especially amid the public clamor to suspend it and the legal questions raised by some groups before the courts.

"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," she said.