DOTr officials ordered: Commute at least once a week

MANILA, Philippines — Senior officials of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) have been ordered to ride public transit at least once a week to experience the struggles of commuters.

Starting tomorrow, road and rail officials are required to submit weekly accomplishment reports indicating their observations, recommendations and plans of action, with proof of compliance.

Covered by acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez’s directive are undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, executive directors and regional directors of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), as well as administrators and general managers of the Light Rail Transit Authority, Philippine National Railways and Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3).

Lopez tried yesterday the “commuter experience” in Quezon City, wherein he rode a bus, boarded MRT-3 and climbed the steep EDSA Kamuning footbridge, known as “Mt. Kamuning.”

“It’s really difficult what our fellow citizens go through every day – commuting feels like a punishment and is exhausting,” he admitted.

More LTO and Philippine Coast Guard personnel will be deployed to Commonwealth Avenue to support the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, he noted. — Elijah Felice Rosales