DPWH chief vows prudent use of road user's tax proceeds

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Public Works and Highways will use the proceeds of the motor vehicle user’s charge (MVUC), otherwise known as the road user’s tax, in a prudent and transparent manner, DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson said yesterday.

He ordered DPWH field officials to ensure that the MVUC funds are used solely for preventive road maintenance. The MVUC was projected to reach P11 billion in 2011 and under the law imposing the levy, 7.5 percent of collections must be spent for road safety.

“Road users are entitled to the services they pay in terms of smoother, faster, and more convenient travel and road safety,” Singson said.

 “Road safety devices should be installed in critical road sections to ensure safe travel or to locations called black spots along national roads,” he added.

The DPWH defines “black spots” as national road sections where accidents often occur and are recorded in its Traffic Accident Recording System or TARS, which determines the road sections where the DPWH will put engineering interventions to address the occurrence of road accidents.

“No more double-decker guard rails, no more cat’s eyes on just any road, no more chevron lined up like fences along the roads,” Singson said. “These road safety devices should be installed where they are needed.”

In a department order, Singson earlier tasked the Public Work’s Planning Service chief to review all the plans and programs under the MVUC as prepared by the Road Program office.

MVUC collections are administered by a road board, which is chaired by the DPWH secretary. Among the board’s members are the finance secretary and the budget secretary.

In 2009, a Senate committee chaired by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago investigated alleged irregularities in the use of MVUC collections and recommended that the Office of the Ombudsman file plunder charges against key road board officials. It is not known what happened to the recommendation.