Panelo's ‘commute challenge’ disturbs fellow passengers
MANILA, Philippines — Viral footage streamed on social media on Friday shows a jeepney passenger aggravated by a commuting presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo this morning as he took up the challenge raised by progressive groups.
In the clip, Panelo, who was being trailed by a group of media practitioners, is seen taking roughly half a minute to alight from a jeepney.
"Mga pasahero nagrereklamo na (The other passengers are complaining)," an unseen passenger said as Panelo was stalling the vehicle before he decided to get off.
"Mama, bababa si Sir Panelo (Driver, Sir Panelo is about to get off)," another passenger said.
A visibly irked nun who rode the same vehicle as Panelo said passengers were greatly inconvenienced by the stunt.
“Hindi lang siya ang pasahero dito. Nang dahil sa kanya, huminto yung jeep,” she said. (He’s not the only passenger here. But because of him, the ride was disrupted.)
“Nagmamadali kami eh. May klase rin kami,” the nun said. (We’re running late. We also have classes to attend.)
“Yung iba sa’min may trabaho rin po.” (Some of us also have jobs at stake.)
Panelo’s commute from Marikina to Malacañang took nearly four hours. He reportedly left his home at around 5:15 a.m. and was spotted at 6:45 a.m. waiting for a jeepney at Concepcion, Marikina.
After four jeepney rides, Panelo hitched a motorcycle ride to Malacañang.
Panelo, who is also chief presidential legal counsel, was dared earlier this week by labor organization Kilusang Mayo Uno along with other progressive groups to try commuting. The dare was a reaction to his comment denying the existence of a “mass transport crisis.” He argued that glitches in three of our country’s major train stations are not enough reason to declare a crisis.
Despite Panelo committing to the commuting challenge, the stunt has been criticized—by Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, among others—for having no impact on Metro Manila’s public transportation problem.
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