DOTr chief on Monday bus ride: Chaotic, tiring
Almost two weeks since he took over the department, acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez went to work on Monday using public transportation—an experience he described as “Isang parusa. Napakahirap. Nakakapagod. (A punishment. Very hard. Exhausting).”
“It seemed to me like we were all at war. It was like a battle; we were all chasing a bus we could ride in,” Lopez said in an interview over dzMM on Tuesday.
According to him, a bus typically has a seating capacity of 50 in addition to 10 to 15 standing passengers. But in his case, there were at least 90 passengers in the bus he rode in.
“You’re not allowed to move. You have to breathe slowly. It was like, you have to endure this, just endure this,” Lopez said.
Not enough vehicles
“There was another ride I wanted to get on. I was going to squeeze myself in because I had an 8 a.m. meeting at the office. But the rider who was standing on the footboard (estribo) told me, ‘We’re full.’ So I said, ‘Sorry.’ I backed off. We had to look for another bus to ride,” he recalled.
“It was very chaotic. There was no system and there was not enough vehicles,” said Lopez who told the interviewer that he went through the experience because he wanted to observe the state of public transport in the country.
His ordeal prompted him to order all officials of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to commute using public transport at least once a week, starting on Sept. 17.
“I want my colleagues to feel that the reports being submitted to them are false. And they need to experience it. What you hear and what is being said is not the same thing as experiencing it yourself,” Lopez said.
At the same time, the DOTr chief said he has ordered the road sector to deploy more traffic enforcers, and possibly the Philippine Coast Guard, to help supervise traffic flow and manage the public transportation system in Metro Manila.
Commonwealth bus carousel
He also instructed the DOTr to study the feasibility of opening a hybrid lane for buses on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, like the bus carousel on Edsa.
“I don’t know if it’s the entire Commonwealth all the way to Quezon Avenue but we have to do something,” said Lopez.
Malacañang, meanwhile, welcomed Lopez’s order, with Palace press officer Claire Castro saying on Tuesday the policy has the President’s support as long as it is reasonable and does not violate the rights of the officials.
“And its goal is good so that our public officials can truly experience what ordinary commuters go through,” Castro added.
Ordered to commute using public transportation at least once a week beginning on Sept. 17 were DOTr undersecretaries and assistant secretaries, as well as officials of the Land Transportation Office, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and government railway systems.
They were also directed to submit their weekly accomplishment reports indicating their observations, recommendations and plans of action with proof of compliance.
Lopez took over the DOTr post on Sept. 3 after his predecessor Vince Dizon was assigned to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) following allegations that billions of pesos were pocketed by corrupt DPWH officials who connived with contractors and some government officials on substandard or “ghost” flood control projects from 2022 to this year. —WITH A REPORT FROM LUISA CABATO
