TUESDAY I APRTL 30, 2019

SC asked to stop provincial bus ban

The Supreme Court (SC)
vas asked yesterday to stop
he controversial oolicv of
he Metropolita" tului-rit u
)evelopment Authority
MMDA) baruring provincia.l
,uses on EDSA.
The AKO Bicol party-list
roup sought the issuance of
temporary redtraining order
fRO) or writ of preliminary
injunction immediately
stopping the implementatioir
of MMDA's Regulation No.
79-002.
AKO Bicol Reps. Ronald
Ang and Alfredo Garbin Jr,
also asked the SC to strike
down the measure, which thd
MMDA and the Metro Manila
Council (MMC) took to ease
iraffic in Metro Manila's main
thoroughfare, for viplating the The group also alleged
1987 Consdtution aird existine that the regulation, which
laws- has affected thousands of
The petidoners, ripresented passengers from the provinces,
by the Chan Robles & was void from the begiruring
Associates law firm, said and should have not takei
"there was no single public effect simply because it is an
hearing conducted by the exercise of police power that
MMC and MMDA prior to the MMDA and MMC do not
the regulation's iritended possess.
implementation." They stressed that police
'i Pfyg-e*p v
power is a legislative act,
which means the ban on
provincial buses and closure
of bus terminals along EDSA
necessitated pnactment of
ordinances bv individual local
government'units that have
police power under the Local
Government Code of 1991.
The lawmakers also cited
that of 367,738 vehicles that
traversed EDSA d aily in 2017.
247 ,527 are private m
vehicles, 12000 are city b
and 3,300 are provinciil b,
"There is no
correlation between th
existence of provincial
terminals and its buses
the traffic congestion
EDSA"" read the petition.