Guevarra on commute challenge: ‘No need to be on moon to know there’s a moon’

MANILA, Philippines — “You need not be on the moon to know that there is a moon.”

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said this Sunday when asked if he was up for the “commute challenge” following the proposal of a lawmaker to require high-ranking public officials to take public transportation on Mondays.

While acknowledging the hardships commuters go through on a daily basis, Guevarra said that doing such challenge “will only add to the commute problem.”

“Sanay ako sa hirap ng daily commute to and from Bulacan (I am used to the daily challenge of commuting to and from Bulacan). I had no first-owned car till I became a lawyer, and had no driver till I got to Malacañang. I know how hard it is out there,” Guevarra said.

“In 2015, one-way trip from NLEX (North Luzon Expressway) to Ortigas Center took me at least 2 hours. I just want to say that you need not be on the moon to know that there is a moon… Such a challenge will only add to the commute problem. No value added,” he added.

Last Friday, Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo accepted the dare of militant groups to take public transportation on his way to Malacañang to understand the daily ordeals of commuters following his denial of the “mass transport crisis” in Metro Manila.

It took Panelo almost four hours to arrive in Malacañang from Marikina City.

Despite this, Panelo continued to insist that there is no mass transport crisis in Metro Manila. /je