DOTr officials required to use public transport once a week
Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez on Monday ordered the department undersecretaries and assistant secretaries, including officials of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and government railway systems to take public transportation to better observe the needs of commuters.
Lopez said they should do this at least once a week, starting this Wednesday, Sept. 17, to ensure the effective implementation of projects under the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
“Our officials in the road and rail sector must be the ones who should always be out there because most of our projects are in this sector,” Lopez said in a statement.
Also covered
Covered by his order were the DOTr undersecretary and assistant secretary for road transport and non-infrastructure, undersecretary and director for road transport and infrastructure, and undersecretary and assistant secretary for railways.
In the LTO, those affected were the agency’s assistant secretary, executive director, regional directors and assistant regional directors.
Also covered by Lopez’s order were the LTFRB chair, executive director, regional directors and assistant regional directors, as well as the Light Rail Transit Authority administrator, Philippine National Railways general manager and Metro Rail Transit 3 general manager.
All the officials were likewise directed to submit “weekly accomplishment reports indicating their observations/recommendations/plans of action with proof of compliance.”
At the same time, Lopez encouraged officials from other sectors to commute alongside the DOTr officials to “see and experience firsthand the difficulties faced by commuters.”
Lopez, who took over the DOTr on Sept. 3 following Vince Dizon’s appointment as public works secretary, has vowed to follow his predecessor’s example of prioritizing the interest and welfare of commuters.
According to Lopez, the only way to solve the commuters’ problems was to “go out in the field, see the problem, and fix it in real time.”
