BAGONG Henerasyon Party-list and Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Bernadette ‘BH’ Herrera filed House Bill 8510 seeking to establish the Railways Industry Authority of the Philippines (RIAP) as the central regulatory agency of the rail sector in the country.
The powers of the RIAP will be exercised by its governing Railways Industry Board while the operations management will be by its Administrator and three Deputy Administrators.
“My House Bill provides that the RIAP shall assume all powers and functions of the Philippine National Railways and the Light Rail Transit Authority relative to the issuance of eligibility certifications, determination of fares, railways restructuring, quality of service regulation, and investment regulation. This is consistent with the regulatory focus of RIAP,” Herrera said.
RIAP will privatize rail operations much in the same way the LRT is operated now by the Light Rail Manila Corporation, the private operator of LRT Line 1.
The operations reforms will mainly affect the PNR which has been a government agency for many decades and badly in need of upgrades and modernization into the 21st century.
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