WHEREAS, Section 3 of Republic Act No. 7924, otherwise known as the Act creating the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), has identified one of its services as the provision of necessary Metro Manila-wide transport and traffic management which include the formulation, coordination, and monitoring of policies, standards, programs and projects to rationalize the existing transport operations, infrastructure requirements, the use of thoroughfares, and promotion of safe and convenient movement of persons and goods; the institution of a system to regulate road users; and the administration and implementation of all traffic enforcement operations, traffic engineering services and traffic education programs;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Executive Order No. 125, dated January 30, 1987, as amended by Executive Order No. 125-A, dated April 13, 1987, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), is mandated to formulate and recommend policies and guidelines for, as well as establish and administer comprehensive and integrated programs for, the preparation and implementation of integrated and comprehensive transportation systems at the national, regional and local levels;

WHEREAS, pursuant to the above-cited Executive Orders, the DOTC must likewise assess, review and provide direction to the implementation of said transportation systems, and, for this purpose, may call on any agency, corporation, or organization, whether public or private, whose development programs include transportation as an integral part thereof, to participate and assist in the preparation and implementation of such program;

WHEREAS, pursuant to the above-cited Executive Orders, the Land Transportation Office is tasked with the mandate to establish and prescribe rules and regulations for the inspection and registration of public and land transportation facilities, as well as for the issuance of licenses to qualified motor vehicle drivers and conductors;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 5 of Executive Order No. 202, dated June 19, 1987, one of the main powers and functions of the Land Transportation Franchising And Regulatory Board is to prescribe and regulate routes of service, economically viable capacities and zones or areas of operation of public land transportation services provided by motorized vehicles in accordance with the public land transportation development plans and programs approved by the DOTC, and to issue, amend, revise, suspend or cancel Certificates of Public Convenience or permits authorizing the operation of public land transportation services provided by motorized vehicles, and to prescribe the appropriate terms and conditions therefor;

WHEREAS, in an effort to decongest traffic within Metro Manila, the MMDA has recommended that provincial buses going to and/or coming from Metro Manila be prohibited to ply along Metro Manila ™s major thoroughfares starting August, 1999;

WHEREAS, the MMDA has likewise recommended that central terminals for provincial buses going to and/or coming from Metro Manila be located at the peripheries of the metropolis, starting with the existing central terminal at the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) Compound in Taguig, Metro Manila, as the site for buses going to and/or coming from the south of Metro Manila;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order the following:

Section 1. Provincial Bus Re-Routing Committee. There is hereby created the Provincial Bus Re-Routing Committee to be headed by the Chairman of the MMDA. Said Committee shall be composed of the following members:

1. Secretary of Transportation and Communications, or his designated permanent representative;
2. Secretary of Public Works and Highways, or his designated permanent representative;
3. Secretary of Interior and Local Government, or his designated permanent representative;
4. Chairman, Land Transportation Franchising And Regulatory Board, or his designated permanent representative;
5. Head, Land Transportation Office, or his designated permanent representative;
6. President, Food Terminal Inc, or his designated permanent representative; and
7. Mayors of the cities/municipalities where such bus terminals may be located;

Section 2. Functions and Responsibilities of the Committee. The Committee shall have the following functions and responsibilities:

1. Formulate and implement a comprehensive plan for the rerouting/rezoning of the areas of operation of provincial buses going to and/or coming from Metro Manila, including the required amendments to the franchise routes of said buses, the identification, construction and development of central terminals for such public transports, and the provision of the proper ingress to and egress from said terminal sites and of commuter-line public transport systems to and from said central terminals that shall serve strategic points within Metro Manila;
2. Conduct a comprehensive information dissemination campaign that shall educate the general public on the desired effects of said provincial buses rerouting plan;
3. Ensure the timely and effective implementation of the plan up to its full operationalization, including the initiation of needed phasing-in and phasing-out activities;
4. Call on any national or local government agency or instrumentality as the Committee may deem necessary in the exercise of its functions and responsibilities;
5. Conduct a regular monitoring and evaluation of the formulation and implementation of said plan; and
6. Perform such other related functions as may be instructed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

Section 3. Timetable. The Committee shall have the following timetable:

	Activity		Deadline
1.	Formulation of comprehensive rerouting/rezoning plan and submission to the President for approval.	-	On or before May 31, 1999
2.	Upgrading of the existing central terminal at the FTI Compound, Taguig to fully serve the southern sector of Metro Manila	-	On or before August 30, 1999
3.	Identification, construction, development and operationalization of the central terminal that shall serve the northern sector of Metro Manila	-	On or before December 31, 1999
4.	Identification, construction, development and operationalization of the central terminals that shall serve the coastal and eastern sector of Metro Manila	-	On or before March 31, 2000

Section 4. Inter-agency Support. All government agencies are directed to extend full support to the Committee.

Section 5. Repealing Clause. All issuances, orders, rules, and regulations, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 6. Effectivity. This Order takes effect immediately.

(Sgd.) JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA
President of the Philippines

By the President:
(Sgd.) RONALDO B. ZAMORA
Executive Secretary