A PARTY-LIST congressman is pushing for an elected governor of Metro Manila.
“It is about time that we have a full-time working Metropolitan Manila government, headed by a governor, who is elected by the people,” Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza of Buhay said in filing House Bill 4758, or An Act Creating the Metropolitan Manila Government that is meant to replace the current Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), which is headed by a chairman appointed by the President and serves as a coordinating body with the elected mayors of the 16 cities and one town in the metropolis.
“The Metro Manila Commission was meant to be an experiment in 1973 and was headed by then-First Lady Imelda R. Marcos. She was effective, because she was Mrs. Marcos and everybody listened and followed. But as we have seen after 44 years, the MMDA has not been responsive to and effective in addressing the pressing concerns of the residents of Metro Manila. There should now be a permanent body, considering all the changes the country has undergone and the experiences we have had,” Atienza added.
Atienza pointed out that megacities, like New York and Tokyo, have governors who are elected by the people.
“Dapat ang chairman ng MMDA ay elected, kagaya ng governors sa New York and Tokyo. These are megacities that used to have traffic problems like ours, which they were able to manage effectively with a governor elected by the people, answerable and accountable to the people. The MMDA’s present structure of having an appointed chairman is failing for lack of accountability. We cannot expect duly elected local government officials to follow the lead of an MMDA chairman, who is merely a presidential appointee. An elected governor would be more sensitive to what needs to be done and how to work with the mayors,” Atienza said.
Atienza, a former mayor of Manila, cited his own experience managing the capital city for nine years, pointing out the need for a master plan for development, instead of the palliative measures being implemented to address the metropolis’s long-festering problems, such as traffic congestion, flooding, peace and order, and garbage.
“The traffic situation has continued to worsen, and all the MMDA can come up with are hare-brained schemes, like imposing a ‘congestion fee’ on motorists passing Epifanio de los Santos Avenue. Until now we continue to experience flooding in the Metropolis, even with light rains. Ang problema sa basura ay hindi pa din tuluyang nasosolusyonan. This is exactly why we need to have an elected governor to implement a master plan for development to address all these concerns and who will be held accountable to the people,” Atienza added.
In Atienza’s bill, the Metro Manila government shall be composed of a governor, vice governor and the Metro Manila Council (MMC).
The governor, vice governor and members of the MMC shall be elected by the people at large within Metro Manila, embracing the cities of Caloocan, Manila, Mandaluyong, Makati, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Malabon, Marikina, Navotas, Parañaque, San Juan, Taguig and Valenzuela, and the town of Pateros, provided that members of the MMC shall be elected from each of the congressional districts within Metro Manila.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes