Senators should consider commuting to work – Sherwin

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian urged his fellow lawmakers yesterday to try commuting to work, inspired by a Department of Transportation policy requiring key DOTr officials to experience the daily troubles of the riding public firsthand.

During the Senate finance subcommittee hearing yesterday on the DOTr’s proposed P300.96-billion budget for 2027, Gatchalian praised Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez for maintaining a memorandum order from last year that mandates transport officials to commute at least once a week.

Lopez confirmed he still adheres to the directive without posting his commutes on social media, though he admitted he cannot vouch for his subordinates.

“To be honest, I don’t know if my subordinates are doing the same. That’s something I cannot check anymore,” he said.

Gatchalian commended Lopez for keeping the practice low-profile and suggested that members of the upper chamber – citing Sen. JV Ejercito, who regularly bikes to the Senate – should follow suit.

“In fact, us senators should also do this, to be honest about it,” Gatchalian said.

Railway update

The DOTr is projecting that up to one million vehicles will be removed from the roads once the country’s major railway projects are fully operational.?

During the subcommittee hearing, Lopez said combining the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), Metro Manila Subway, MRT-3 and MRT-7 would eventually serve around five million daily commuters.?

He was responding to Sen. Erwin Tulfo’s frustrations that the Philippine transport system is lagging behind its ASEAN neighbors.?

“When all that combines and is operational, we see it benefiting up to five million passengers every day using that railway system,” Lopez said, noting that dividing this volume by an average of five passengers per car equates to one million fewer vehicles on the road.?

Meanwhile, Gatchalian flagged P295 million in commitment fees paid to foreign lenders for long-delayed transport projects.?

He pointed out that the South Commuter Railway Project incurred P91 million in fees for undisbursed loans, while the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project racked up P85 million, primarily due to years-long right-of-way disputes.?

“Whether the project is on time or not, that is our obligation for them making the loan available to us. This P295 million, these are commitment fees that were incurred because of delayed projects,” Gatchalian stressed, urging the DOTr to cancel unnecessary Official Development Assistance loans to avoid mounting penalties.