Poe: Sponsorship speech Philippine Transportation Safety Board
March 7, 2023
Sponsorship speech Philippine Transportation Safety Board
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, further to the Committee Report on the January 1, 2023 NAIA Air Traffic Glitch, I am honored to present again for this Body's consideration the Philippine Transportation Safety Board Act.
Hindi lingid sa kaalaman ng lahat na ang measure na ito ay na-veto noong unang bahagi ng 19th Congress on the ground of duplication of functions. But the Senate and the House of Representatives of the 18th Congress saw no duplication--only the need to institute an independent agency with the proper expertise to investigate transportation accidents as per global standards.
Of course, DOTR, MARINA, PNP, and all those other agencies can investigate these transportation accidents or incidents. But much like what we saw during the New Year fiasco at the airport, CAAP will never say that they were remiss with their maintenance. When a ship sinks, MARINA will never say that they failed to conduct the proper inspection. And when a fatal train accident occurs, DOTR will never admit that they bought a malfunctioning train or that corners were cut during construction.
Currently, CAAP functions as a regulator, operator, and investigator. Even CAAP recognizes the disadvantages of these conflicting roles and supports any proposal to separate these functions. Congress had to step in because CAAP couldn't even figure out what went wrong.
This is exactly why we need the PTSB: we need an independent agency that shall conduct independent, thorough, and truthful investigations, and provide corresponding and critical recommendations. Para isang lupon ng eksperto ang mag-iimbestiga at hindi ang paiba-ibang resource persons sa Kongreso.
I have said this before and I will say it again: the PTSB can save lives. And not just that, it is also hoped that it can resolve the issues in our transport systems without even causing a shut down. The enactment of this measure will be the first step towards safer and more effective journeys for all Filipinos. Thank you, Mr. President.
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