MANILA (UPDATE) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vetoed a bill that sought to form a national transportation safety board, Malacañang said on Saturday.

The measure aimed to empower a safety board to conduct hearings, investigations and special studies concerning major or fatal transportation accidents and prepare written reports that will be made available to the public.

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said the proposed transportation safety board's functions are already being undertaken by agencies under the Department of Transportation, the Philippine National Police, and the National Bureau of Investigation.

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"Creating a new body will only 'create functional duplication, confusion as to authority, ineffectiveness, and deficiency in the performance of the responsibilities'," the Palace official said in a statement.

The Palace said the creation of a new panel runs contrary to his administration’s push to “enhance the government’s institutional capacity through the optimal and efficient use of resources and strategic rationalization of the functions of government agencies.”

“I urge Congress to instead enact measures that will look into the functions, operations, organization, systems, and processes of the aforecited government agencies with the end view of strengthening the same and providing a holistic and well-coordinated approach in the promotion of transportation safety,” Marcos said.

The Marcos administration is focusing on government rightsizing, which aims to attain bureaucratic efficiency, the President had said.

In his first executive order, Marcos abolished the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, citing the need for a “just allocation of resources” due to the ongoing health and fiscal crises.

POE LAMENTS VETO

In a statement, Senator Grace Poe said the proposed agency is necessary as it would give recommendations to "avert the next accident" and strengthen the country's road safety measures.

She noted that the transportation safety board's functions "are not at all duplicated."

"The veto is unfortunate given that from 2016 to 2020 alone, a total of 483 accidents have been recorded in the maritime sector, while the road sector reported a 12,487 yearly average deaths due to road crashes," said Poe.

"While we recognize the challenging fiscal position of the government, the mounting toll of road accidents must no longer be overlooked," she added.

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