Sen. Binay dares DOTr execs to commute amid GCQ transport woes

Department of Transportation (DOTr) officials should ditch their privilege of riding personal cars and experience firsthand the ordeal faced by thousands of commuters amid the general community quarantine, Senator Nancy Binay said Tuesday.

"Ano ba talaga ang plano ng DOTr sa commuters? Three months under ECQ and still they have no clear plan in place. What happened to foresight? Mabuti sila't aircon ang mga sasakyan. Eh kung subukan kaya ng mga opisyal ng DOTr mag-commute mula sa kani-kanilang bahay papasok sa opisina nila (sa Clark City o Ortigas)?" Binay said in a statement.

"Dapat maramdaman nila ang hirap na pinagdadaanan ng mga commuter. They won't be able to plan well if they don't feel and understand the people's daily struggles," she added.

The senator pointed out that the lack of enough transportation vehicles on the road would imperil the safety of the public.

"DOTr knew that Metro Manila and the rest of the regions will soon be transitioning to the new normal. They knew that 30% of those in NCR will start going to work by June 1—tapos ang idi-deploy eh truck ng libreng sakay which compromise and breach all health protocols particularly physical distancing," Binay said.

She also described the ban on operation of public utility jeepneys as "unrealistic, anti-commuter at anti-worker," noting that the exclusion of jeepneys in the equation also means continued lack of income resources for some 250,000 families.

Senator Joel Villanueva also said that the lifeblood of the economy, which the government intends to jumpstart with the easing of the quarantine, were neglected.

"Our economy has been the prime consideration in the decision to relax our quarantine restriction, but sadly, it appears we forgot about the mobility of our workers in our desire to jumpstart the recovery," Villanueva said.

"For industries to restart successfully, it relies on the labor of the people to spark the economic recovery."

The DOTr earlier said that public transportation would resume under GCQ in two phases.

Under Phase 1, which will run from June 1 to 21, only trains, augmentation buses, taxis, transport network vehicle services, shuttle services, point-to-point buses, and bicycles will be allowed to operate on a limited capacity. The operation of tricycles under this phase is subject to the approval of local government units.

Under Phase 2 from June 22 to 30, public utility buses, modern public utility vehicles or jeepneys, and UV Express will be allowed to operate on a limited capacity. --KBK, GMA News