Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita yesterday directed the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to widen the MacArthur Highway in Bulacan, the only major alternative route for travelers to Metro Manila who wish to avoid paying the higher toll fees charged by the North Luzon Expressway (NLE).

Ermita issued the directive after key officials of the Bulacan Mayors’ League (BML) called on him last Thursday in Malacañang to enlist his assistance in resolving the controversy over the increased toll fees and the closure of six temporary exits, including the Tabe Exit leading to Guiginto’s industrial zone.

The league recently passed a resolution expressing its opposition to the toll fee hike, and the closure of six temporary exits.

Under an agreement with the Manila National Tollways Corporation (MNTC), six Bulacan towns were allowed to operate temporary toll booths with the understanding that these would be shut down once the new NLE begins its commercial operations.

Another agreement reached between the executive branch and BML called for the immediate construction of a by-pass road from Guiginto and cutting across several Bulacan towns. This by-pass road is included in the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan.

Guiginto Mayor Ambrosio Cruz, league president, voiced his town’s objection to the closure of the Tabe toll exit, saying this would adversely affect the viability of his town’s industrial zone.

Ermita also instructed the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to ensure efficient traffic management, and to work closely with the BML in ensuring that public transport groups are able to avail themselves of the discounts being offered by the MNTC.

"From the start, this would be a team effort and the Bulacan Mayors’ League agreed to help the DPWH and DOTC to look for viable and permanent solutions to the problems that they have raised," Ermita said.

DPWH Undersecretary Teodoro Encarnacion said the department can start construction work on a portion of the proposed Plaridel by-pass road which consists of a major interchange as well as a road leading to the Guiginto town proper.

On the toll fee increase, the MNTC explained that the fees were arrived at long before construction of the NLE started following a lengthy process of negotiations. MNTC head Jose de Jesus assured the mayors, however, that discounts are available to all cargo truck companies and public transport groups.

The MNTC also stressed that the closure of the temporary exits was necessary because these exits are not parts of the design.

"The mayors of these affected towns understood and even signed an agreement that these exits were only temporary and would have to be closed down once the NLE begins its full commercial operations," de Jesus explained.

De Jesus, however, welcomed the agreements on the by-pass road and the widening of the MacArthur Highway as complementary to the objectives of the new NLE to facilitate convenient travel to and from various points of Central Luzon.

The mayors present at the meeting thanked Ermita for facilitating the dialogue which resulted in concrete solutions to the concerns of Bulacan leaders over the NLE.

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Malacañang today dismissed as "overkill" the latest advisory of the US State Department warning Americans traveling to or residing in the Philippines to maintain heightened security awareness in view of continuing terrorist threats in the country.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said in a radio interview that travel advisories on the Philippines have become well-worn warnings that are often ignored by citizens of the issuing government.

He recalled that despite the US State Department’s advisory, relatives of US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone spent Christmas in the Philippines last year upon the invitation of the American envoy. Ricciardone was quoted at the time as saying, "we do not mind those advisories."

The US ambassador has been visiting various parts of the country despite his government’s travel warning.

Travel advisories have not discouraged tourists from visiting the Philippines. "The number of tourist arrivals continue to soar," Bunye said.

He said while it is "important that we remain vigilant, at the same time we must continue our normal activities."

He also stressed the need for people to cooperate closely with the police and other authorities in-charge of maintaining peace and order to deter would-be trouble-makers from committing illegal acts.

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Malacañang today expressed support for the pilot-testing of the identification (ID) system on a regional basis to ensure that the proposed national ID would not run afoul of basic human rights, including the right to privacy.

In a radio interview this morning, Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said proponents of the national ID would draw important lessons from a regional ID that could be adapted in the national system.

He said the information gathered by local government units (LGUs) for their ID system would serve as database in the formulation of the national ID.

Bunye, however, said fears that the national ID system would lead to violations of human rights are "more imagined than real." He pointed out that progressive countries known for their strong democratic traditions, including the United States, have adopted their own ID systems.

Violations of human rights arising from the ID system, if there are such violations, cannot be hidden from the US media, including Newsweek and Time, he said.

Bunye, who is also presidential spokesman, added that the importance of the national ID is that the different IDs an individual now possesses such as SSS, GSIS, PhilHealth, postal, taxpayer’s and voter’s, would be consolidated into one.

He branded as baseless fears that the ID system would intrude into one’s human rights since the information that would go into the national ID are the same as those in his IDs.

"After all, the information that will be used in the national ID system would come from the person who will get the ID," Bunye said, adding, "how could a wrong information be encoded into an individual’s ID system when the person who applies for an ID will fill up the application form himself?

He emphasized that the ID system would be good for everybody. "First, our records would be systematized. Second, government commercial transactions would be simplified," he added.

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