Senate committee ok's bill to improve terminals, ports
By AJ Siytangco
Published Mar 20, 2018 10:44 am
By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
A Senate committee moved for the passage of a measure that would improve facilities in all land transportation terminals and roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ports.
Senate Bill No. 1749, or the proposed "Act to Improve Land Transportation Terminal, Stations, Stops, Rest Areas, and Roll-On/Roll-Off Terminals," has hurdled the scrutiny of the Senate Committee on Public Services and has been endorsed for the plenary deliberations.
Senator Grace Poe
(Senate of the Philippines official Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN) According to her, 79 percent of domestic travelers in 2016 spent P476 on land transportation. Senator Grace Poe, in her sponsorship speech Monday, pushed for the bill's approval as she cited long-distance land transportation being a "crucial" feature of travelling in the country. According to her, 79 percent of domestic travelers in 2016 spent P476 on land transportation. The measure, Poe said, seeks to mandate owners, operators, or administrators of land transport terminals to improve their facilities "through simple, effective and practical measures." In particular, the bill would require them to provide clean and sanitary comfort rooms as already stipulated in existing laws, such as Presidential Decree No. 856 or the Code on Sanitation of the Philippines, and the Guidelines for Off-Street Terminal Operations by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). "Along the tens of thousands of kilometers or lengthy roads all over the country, land transportation terminals, stations, stops and rest areas are like sanctuaries for travelers using land transportation," said Poe, who joked that looking for sanitary CRs in terminals had become a "game show." The measure also prohibits the collection of fees from passengers for the use of sanitary facilities in transport terminals, institutionalizing the provisions of the LTFRB memorandum. The proposed law likewise wants the establishment of at least one breastfeeding station per terminal. This, she said, will hasten the implementation of RA 7600, as amended by RA 10028, or the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009. Poe said the SB 1749 also wants to require the provision of free internet in terminals, as ordered also by Republic Act 10929, or the Free internet Access in Public Spaces Act. Poe, recalling her committee's hearing on the bill, said this was supported by the Department of Information and Communications Technology, bus operators' groups and other land transport associations. The measure also included RORO terminals to make certain that those terminals "are also clean and comfortable for the travelling public." "This measure is a win-win proposal. It will improve the experience of weary Filipinos travelers who use these transport terminals during their long trips. It is an improvement which will be immediately seen and felt," Poe said. ​
Senator Grace Poe(Senate of the Philippines official Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN) According to her, 79 percent of domestic travelers in 2016 spent P476 on land transportation. Senator Grace Poe, in her sponsorship speech Monday, pushed for the bill's approval as she cited long-distance land transportation being a "crucial" feature of travelling in the country. According to her, 79 percent of domestic travelers in 2016 spent P476 on land transportation. The measure, Poe said, seeks to mandate owners, operators, or administrators of land transport terminals to improve their facilities "through simple, effective and practical measures." In particular, the bill would require them to provide clean and sanitary comfort rooms as already stipulated in existing laws, such as Presidential Decree No. 856 or the Code on Sanitation of the Philippines, and the Guidelines for Off-Street Terminal Operations by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). "Along the tens of thousands of kilometers or lengthy roads all over the country, land transportation terminals, stations, stops and rest areas are like sanctuaries for travelers using land transportation," said Poe, who joked that looking for sanitary CRs in terminals had become a "game show." The measure also prohibits the collection of fees from passengers for the use of sanitary facilities in transport terminals, institutionalizing the provisions of the LTFRB memorandum. The proposed law likewise wants the establishment of at least one breastfeeding station per terminal. This, she said, will hasten the implementation of RA 7600, as amended by RA 10028, or the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009. Poe said the SB 1749 also wants to require the provision of free internet in terminals, as ordered also by Republic Act 10929, or the Free internet Access in Public Spaces Act. Poe, recalling her committee's hearing on the bill, said this was supported by the Department of Information and Communications Technology, bus operators' groups and other land transport associations. The measure also included RORO terminals to make certain that those terminals "are also clean and comfortable for the travelling public." "This measure is a win-win proposal. It will improve the experience of weary Filipinos travelers who use these transport terminals during their long trips. It is an improvement which will be immediately seen and felt," Poe said. ​