As the exodus for All Saints’ Day went into full swing, President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday inspected three major transport terminals in Metro Manila, a tour that saw him checking toilets for cleanliness and shelling out P2,000 to help an erring bus driver pay the fine.
Mr. Aquino visited for the first time the controversial Southwest Integrated Provincial Terminal (SWIPT) in Parañaque City, which opened in August to limit the routes of provincial buses coming from Laguna and Batangas provinces and keep them off major roads in the capital, especially Edsa.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chair Francis Tolentino gave the President a tour of the 1.4-hectare terminal at the Uniwide reclamation area.
SWIPT was the first of the three bus terminals that the President had ordered built on the outskirts of the metropolis, with the other two to be set up in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, and near Trinoma mall in Quezon City.
It drew complaints during its first few days of operation, mainly from commuters who had to wait longer and spend for extra rides. At least two complaints questioning its legality have been filed in court.
But in a PowerPoint presentation, Tolentino told the President that traffic conditions had since improved on Edsa, Taft Avenue and the streets around Baclaran Church after provincial bus terminals once located along these roads were relocated to SWIPT.
Aquino went inside the terminal’s booth to see its biometric bus dispatch system, which detects viola tions of bus drivers and regulates the number of buses plying the roads at a given time.
Two drivers were asked to have their records checked in front of the President—and were found to have traffic violations that they had yet to settle.
Mr. Aquino was later seen handing two P1,000 bills to one of the drivers. “Ayan, tulong ko sa ’yo, pambayad mo sa multa (Here, take this so you can pay the fine),” he told the driver.
As part of “Oplan Ligtas Byahe,” the President also visited the newly opened passenger terminal at Manila North Harbor and Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal 3.
He was accompanied by Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma and other officials.
Abaya said the inspection included a visit to the toilets in these facilities.
“As usual, he inspects the most vulnerable spots (which include) the toilets. Annually—in fact, quarterly—he visits the toilets because he knows that many of our people need to go there,” he said.
The Cabinet official noted that the President was also meticulous about the competence of personnel manning security X-ray machines.
“The state of our transport terminals has been acceptable to the President. He was happy (to see) that passengers are happy and comfortable with their trips,” Coloma told reporters after the tour. “The President instructed his officials to observe focused alertness until the end of Undas.”