VP to gov’t: To solve transport crisis, first admit it

MANILA, Philippines — To solve the mass transport crisis in Metro Manila government officials should first admit that it exists, Vice President Leni Robredo said on Sunday.

“What is saddening is when the person who says that there is no crisis is a public official. Because if a public official says there’s no crisis, nothing will be done since for them, there is no problem,” Robredo, speaking in Filipino, said in her weekly AM radio show “BISErbisyong LENI.”

“For us, the first step to something to happen is to accept that there really is a big problem — because if it would not be admitted, there is no sense of urgency,” she added.

According to her, the proof of the transport crisis became evident when presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo accept the “commute challenge” thrown at him by youth group Anakbayan after he denied that there was a mass transport crisis.

Last Friday, Panelo took public transportation to get to Malacañang to understand the daily ordeal that commuters go through. It took Panelo almost four hours to arrive in Malacañang from Marikina City.

“Good for Secretary Panelo, he only experienced it once. But our countrymen experience it every day,” Robredo said.

/atm