Senate panels push for transportation safety board

Aika Rey

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Senate panels push for transportation safety board
If created by law, the proposed National Transportation Safety Board would be the primary agency focusing on transport-related investigations

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate committees on public services, civil service and government reorganization, and finance are pushing for a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to investigate crash incidents and compliance with safety standards.

The Senate panels filed on Thursday, September 26, Committee Report No. 8 with Senate Bill (SB) No. 1077, recommending the creation of the NTSB and prescribing its powers and functions.

SB No. 1077 consolidated Senator Grace Poe’s SB No. 125 and Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr’s SB No. 651. The substitute bill is co-authored by Poe, Revilla, and Senator Juan Edgardo Angara.

 

Eleven other senators signed Committee Report No. 8, aside from the 3 authors of the bill:

  1. Senator Panfilo Lacson
  2. Senator Manny Pacquiao
  3. Senator Joel Villanueva
  4. Senator Bong Go
  5. Senator Risa Hontiveros – may interpellate and propose amendments
  6. Senator Aquilino Pimentel III – may interpellate
  7. Senator Nancy Binay
  8. Senator Ronald dela Rosa – may amend
  9. Senator Lito Lapid
  10. Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon – will interpellate
  11. Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri

Safety board

Under SB No. 1077, the proposed safety board would conduct the following:

  • Conduct independent investigations on transportation incidents – air, highway, rail, and maritime incidents
  • Support safety programs
  • Assess operating practices and regulations of government agencies involved in the transportation sector

The proposed NTSB would also be mandated to submit the results of an investigation within 60 days. It would also be required to initiate and conduct studies related to transportation safety. (READ: What laws help keep road users safe in the Philippines?)

The NTSB would have 7 members headed by a chairperson, who will have a term of 5 years and a rank of department secretary. It would be an attached agency to the Office of the President.

Poe, chairperson of the Senate public services panel, said creating the NTSB “can save lives that should not be lost in the first place.”

“It can avoid preventable accidents. It can avert injuries. It can keep properties intact. The NTSB is our road to safety,” she added.

In the 17th Congress, the transportation safety board bill was approved at the committee level, but was only sponsored in the plenary. – Rappler.com

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Aika Rey

Aika Rey is a business reporter for Rappler. She covered the Senate of the Philippines before fully diving into numbers and companies. Got tips? Find her on Twitter at @reyaika or shoot her an email at aika.rey@rappler.com.