MANILA, Philippines — His suggestion for commuters to wake up early so they can arrive at their destinations early was not an insensitive remark but was rather a praise for the “creativity” of Filipinos, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said Friday.
“No. That is not insensitive. That was a statement, in fact, praising the creativity of Filipinos na marunong tayong humarap sa sitwasyon (we know how to face our situation),” Panelo said in a press briefing.
“Hindi lang tayo basta mura dito, mura doon. May ginagawa tayo para sa ating mga sarili (We don’t just swear. We do something for ourselves),” he added.
Panelo earlier advised commuters to leave early so that they also arrive early at their respective destinations when he denied the existence of a mass transport crisis in Metro Manila.
READ: Palace: No mass transport crisis yet in Metro Manila
Panelo explained that his remark was meant to show how commuters can get their way around despite the “hostile environment.”
“Sabi ko, nung sinabi kong gusto natin makarating e umalis din tayo ng maaga, ang ibig ko sabihin non, we are very creative people. We have a hostile environment but we just don’t sit down and wallow in misery,” Panelo said.
(When I said we should leave early to arrive early, what I meant was we are creative people. We have a hostile environment but we just don’t sit down and wallow in misery.)
“We do something about it. And how do we do it? Since ganyan ang traffic, edi we wake up earlier than usual,” he added.
READ: Panelo tells the public to ‘be creative’ as he rides a jeepney to Malacañang
Panelo said this after he took on an almost four-hour commute to Malacañang after accepting the challenge of militant groups to take public transportation. /muf
READ: Panelo took 4 jeepney rides, almost 4 hours in commute challenge to Malacañang