MANILA, Philippines — He started his rush hour commute at 5:15 a.m., taking a roundabout route from Quezon City to Marikina and then on to Manila.
By the time Salvador Panelo arrived for work at Malacañang yesterday on the motorcycle of a Good Samaritan who had given him a free ride, the presidential spokesman had been on the road for nearly four hours, which were spent waiting for rides, transferring jeepneys and dodging journalists who had staked him out.
Despite the arduous commute, Panelo stood pat on his assessment that there is no transport crisis in Metro Manila.
After taking on the challenge of critics for him to experience the daily grind of commuters, Panelo admitted there is a traffic problem in the metropolis but not a paralysis of public transportation.
“Walang duda na mayroong traffic crisis pero hindi transportation crisis kasi when you say transportation crisis wala ka nang sinasakyan, paralyzed ang buong traffic (There is no doubt that there is a traffic crisis but not a transportation crisis, because when you say transportation crisis, it means you cannot get a ride anymore and the whole traffic is paralyzed),” he told reporters.
Panelo denied that he and other members of the Duterte Cabinet do not sympathize with the riding public.
He said he accepted the commute challenge to prove that there is no paralysis in the mass transport system.
Panelo noted that he and other members of the Cabinet are used to taking public transport, contrary to how they are being painted by critics.
Having grown up in the streets, he said he is used to fighting for a seat when he rides the bus, jeep, tricycle.
He said Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, who is a billionaire, rides public transportation.
Panelo acknowledged that commuters should not be experiencing inconveniences when taking public transportation.
He praised Filipinos for their “creativity” in handling the traffic situation, maintaining that he is not being insensitive to the plight of commuters.
4-hour commute
Panelo started his four-hour travel to Malacañang before daybreak, taking four jeepneys and a motorcycle ride in a roundabout route that took him to Marikina and back to Manila.
He left his son’s residence in New Manila at around 5:15 a.m., walked 15 minutes to the main road between Gilmore and Balete Drive for his first jeepney ride. He arrived in Malacañang at 8:46 a.m. or 46 minutes after the hour government work starts.
Panelo explained at a news briefing that he planned to leave from his house in Marikina, but he slept at his son’s home in New Manila, so he started his commute from there.
From New Manila, he headed to Cubao in a jeepney, then took another ride to Concepcion in Marikina – his original starting point – then back to Cubao from where he was supposed to ride the LRT-2, but he skipped the plan because of the media. He headed to Sta. Mesa instead.
Since he was followed by media, Panelo said he decided to push through with his jeepney ride going to Mendiola through Aurora Boulevard.
Panelo was seen holding a copy of The STAR during his commute.
He said commuters should leave home early to arrive at their destination on time.
Panelo draws flak
Militant lawmakers slammed Panelo for insisting that there is no traffic crisis in Metro Manila.
The Makabayan bloc led by Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said Panelo’s taking on the challenge to experience the daily grind of commuters would not solve the traffic crisis.
“Tragically, despite the not-so-low profile rides, up till now Secretary Salvador Panelo sorely misses the point of the commute challenge,” Zarate said. “The purpose of the challenge is to show him and the government, and for him to at least experience the hardships that commuters endure for hours of waiting just to get public transport, plus the monstrous traffic to get to school and their workplaces every day. This worsening problem demands that the government must act immediately to address it by improving public mass transportation system.”
Zarate contested the claim of Panelo that there is no crisis in the absence of paralysis of mass transport.
The lawmaker said the Palace official should not twist the definition of crisis, which he said is “a time of intense difficulty, trouble or danger” and “does not include paralysis.”
“He should not insist on his definition of crisis because that’s not what it means to our commuters,” Zarate said.
“It took him four hours and four jeepney transfers plus one motorcycle ride to traverse a 25-kilometer distance that should only take one hour without the traffic. Isn’t that too much time wasted for ordinary commuters? If there’s no transport crisis, he could have reached Baguio already with that period of travel,” he added.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said Panelo’s four-hour travel to Malacañang was a clear indication that there is a mass transport crisis that needs to be addressed by the government.
“Congratulations Secretary Panelo for arriving in one piece in Malacañang after nearly four hours of commute! Medyo late na kayo kung government time yan (You’re a bit late if we are going to follow the government work time),” Reyes said.
Netizens said Panelo’s commute challenge was a mere publicity stunt.
A job for Superman
Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go said it would take Superman to untangle Metro Manila’s worsening traffic congestion.
Go made the statement during his visit yesterday to fire victims in Sta. Ana, Manila where he also commented on Panelo’s travel to Malacañang.
“For me, the only one who can solve traffic mess is Superman,” he told reporters.
Go said even during his electoral campaign in 2016, President Duterte had declared that the worsening traffic could not be solved.
He said Duterte is no longer keen on seeking emergency powers to address traffic congestion as he only has three years left in his term.
When told of Panelo’s commute, Go said he would prefer to ride his motorbike.
Labor group Defend Job Philippines said Panelo should not deny that commuters have been suffering from transportation crisis.
The group’s spokesman Christian Lloud Magsoy said Panelo got “a dose of his own medicine” after taking on the commute challenge.
Magsoy challenged other government officials, including President Duterte, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Danny Lim and his spokesperson Celine Pialago to commute for one week during rush hour to “see for themselves first-hand the struggles of commuters.” – With Edu Punay, Elizabeth Marcelo, Paolo Romero, Sheila Crisostomo