Hontiveros urges Malacañang to look into 'real difficulties' of commuters

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday urged Malacañang to look into the “real-life” difficulties of the commuters.

Hontiveros' statement came three days after President Rodrigo Duterte claimed that his administration has “taken away the misery of public commuting.”

"The President, in his recent State of the Nation Address, was glossing over the real-life difficulties of commuters, pero alam naman nating lahat na hindi 'yan ang totoong kalagayan ng mga mananakay (but we all know what the true state of commuting is),” Hontiveros said.

"Paano ka gagawa ng solusyon if you keep on denying that there is something that needs to be fixed? In problem-solving, the first step is acknowledge that there really is a problem, at ganyan dapat ang ginagawa ng Malacanang. Hindi ang mag-sugar coat at magbuhat lang ng sariling bangko," she went on.

(How can you provide solutions if you keep on denying that there is something that needs to be fixed? In problem-solving the first step is acknowledge that there really is a problem, and that’s what Malacañang should do. They should not sugarcoat the problem and praise themselves.)

The lawmaker claimed that the road transport expenses of ordinary Filipinos rose by nearly 20% during the implementation of lockdowns and at least 70% workers found it harder to go to their offices and return to their during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the limited public transportation.

Even before the pandemic, Hontiveros said commuting was already hard for the ordinary Filipinos especially now that fewer commuting options are available, on top of the long queues just to ride public utility vehicles.

She further noted that 25% of jeepneys were still not allowed to operate and those which are on the road are supposed to operate only at fifty percent seating capacity as of April 25.

Hontiveros said this “brings misery not just to the commuters who have to wait for hours and pay for higher fares, but also for the public utility vehicle drivers as their incomes significantly decrease due to reduced seating capacity.”

"While road infrastructure is vital, an efficient and reliable public transport should be the priority so we can provide not just safety and comfort to passengers, but also incomes for public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers especially during the time of the pandemic," she added.

Moreover, the senator said it is “unacceptable” that the government has allowed the P4 billion fund under Bayanihan 2 intended to subsidize bus and jeepney operations to expire.

She added that P3 billion budget under the 2021 funds are not enough to cover one month's shortfall in PUV drivers' incomes due to required physical distancing.

Hontiveros also said that some jeepney drivers might lose their income source as they can no longer afford the monthly amortization of modern jeepneys of the PUV modernization.

"Once and for all, stop invalidating the woes of our commuters and PUV drivers. Mas maraming Pinoy ang umaasa sa pampublikong transportasyon, kaya't kapakanan nila at ng ating drivers ang higit na dapat isaalang-alang," Hontiveros said.

(Once and for all, stop invalidating the woes of our commuters and PUV drivers. More Filipinos are relying on public transportation that’s why we should consider their welfare as well as the livelihood of the drivers.)—AOL, GMA News