Photo Release

GRANTING EMERGENCY POWERS: Senator Grace Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services, and Senator Panfilo Lacson (right) listen to officials of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) during the resumption of a Senate hearing on a proposal to grant President Rodrigo Duterte emergency powers to solve the country’s transportation crisis. “Metro Manila residents spend 1,000 hours a year in traffic, while other countries in the world spend only 300 hours. Our traffic woes should not be used as a blanket excuse to grant emergency powers without making sure that these powers are FOI-compliant, time-bound, fiscally-responsible, detailed, and particular,” Poe said at the start of the hearing. (PRIB Photo by Cesar Tomambo/22 September 2016)