鈥淎s far as we are concerned, it鈥檚 abolished,鈥� Senate President Vicente Sotto III said when asked about the Senate鈥檚 position on a bill that was supposed to abolish the board, which controls proceeds of the tax known as the motor vehicle user鈥檚 charge (MVUC).
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who blew the whistle on various ways lawmakers were inserting pork in the P3.8-trillion proposed budget for 2019, said the Senate would 鈥渋nsist鈥� on the agency鈥檚 abolition.
Reason for abolition
鈥淲e will insist. In fact, we had to adopt the House version of the bill abolishing the Road Board even if we did not totally agree to their version when we found out that they wanted to withdraw what they already had transmitted,鈥� Lacson told reporters in a text message.
Lacson said the senators鈥� reason was simple: The Road Board is a big source of corruption.
鈥淒isbursements of tens of billions of pesos are subject to abuse of discretion with very little or no oversight,鈥� he added.
In September, the Senate, hoping to dispense with bicameral discussions, passed and adopted the House version of a bill filed by former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez abolishing the Road Board due to huge irregularities in the use of MVUC.
But the House, under the new Speaker, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, rescinded its own approval of the bill, leading to confusion about the measure鈥檚 status.
鈥楧ouble stalemate鈥�
Lacson described the situation as a 鈥渄ouble stalemate.鈥�
鈥淥ne between the House and the Senate, the other, between the House and Malaca帽ang,鈥� he said.
The Senate and Malaca帽ang, according to Lacson, are in agreement to abolish 鈥渟ince we know that the road user鈥檚 tax has always been a source of corruption for the longest time as there is very little or no oversight on the board鈥檚 disbursements.鈥�
House attacks on Diokno
On Sunday, Alvarez said disagreement over the release of the MVUC triggered the House-led attacks on Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno over his supposed insertions in the 2019 budget without President Rodrigo Duterte鈥檚 consent.
The former Speaker alleged that lawmakers had been conspiring with Road Board officials to extort from handpicked contractors 30 to 40 percent of the total cost of projects.
鈥淭his translates to billions of pesos collected from Road Board money,鈥� Alvarez said.
Road project paraphernalia, such as cat-eye reflectors, metal railings and asphalt overlay, would be overpriced by staggering amounts. Then the Road Board, in cahoots with House members in whose districts the projects will be developed, could 鈥渃ollect鈥� from their favored contractor, the former Speaker said.
Bill can鈥檛 be recalled
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the House no longer had authority to recall the chamber鈥檚 own bill, because the Senate had already adopted it.
鈥淪ince [the] Senate already adopted [the] House bill, the House lost jurisdiction over the bill and could no longer validly reconsider its adoption,鈥� he said in a text message.
For President鈥檚 approval
Drilon said the Senate should send the printed copy of the House bill adopted by the Senate, signed by the Senate President, to President Duterte for his approval.
Drilon said the President should have the last say on whether to abolish the controversial Road Board amid allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds. 鈥淭he bill should be sent immediately to the President鈥檚 desk for his action. We should let the President decide. It is a political decision,鈥� he said in a statement.
Drilon stressed that there was no valid reason for its transmittal to the Office of the President to be delayed any further.
P137B released
He said the abolition of the Road Board was critical to the government鈥檚 fight against corruption, since it 鈥渉as become a breeding ground for corruption and inefficiency.鈥�
The Commission on Audit over the past years has consistently flagged noncompliance in the use of funds from the MVUC, Drilon noted.
From 2001 to May 2018, the total collection for MVUC reached P166.18 billion with total releases amounting to P136.87 billion, according to the senator.
Lacson likened the House rescission of the Road Board abolition bill to the chamber鈥檚 insertions in the 2019 spending bill鈥攅ven though the period of amendments have long passed.
鈥淎s what they did to the 2019 national budget, which, in spite of being passed on second reading last Oct. 3, they still managed to maneuver to amend certain provisions and pass another version without first seeking plenary consideration and approval,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey throw their own rules out of the window like throwing garbage that they have no use.鈥�
He claimed that last-minute pork insertions by the House leaders delayed the transmittal of the spending bill to the Senate, which has yet to approve it.
Pork finances projects chosen by lawmakers and is a source of kickbacks.