Miriam asks Congress to check use of road-users fund

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Wednesday asked Congress to intervene in the way the multibillion peso road users fund is handled by bureaucrats, saying the move would prevent state officials from abusing public money. In separate letters dated Sept. 15, Santiago asked Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte to personally intervene so that the fund would find its way into the national coffers and be part of the 2011 budget appropriations. "The judicious exercise of your powers would save a grateful nation from continued plunder by faceless bureaucrats," Santiago said. She explained that the fund has always been deposited directly to the Department of Public Works and Highways and released by the Road Fund Board without congressional scrutiny. The situation is a tempting occasion for the "freewheeling plunder" of the fund, which comes from the road-users tax supposedly collected to pay for road maintenance and safety, and pollution control, according to her. Congress should ensure that the fund be used solely for the maintenance of roads, drainage systems, and other public works that guarantee people's safety during natural disasters. —Kimberly Jane Tan/VS, GMANews.TV