Panelo and Tugade refuting Duterte on transport crisis, says Infrawatch

A public policy think tank on Monday said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade are contradicting  President Rodrigo Duterte by denying the existence of a transportation crisis in the country.

The Duterte administration must “make up its mind” on whether or not the country there is a transportation crisis “in order to avoid falling into a clear policy contradiction,” according to Infrawatch PH.

Duterte’s remark—“Let EDSA rot”—in August proves that the president himself has observed a crisis in the country, the infrastructure-oriented think tank noted.

“Nothing significant has changed from 2016 to date, so why are Cabinet officials suddenly scrambling to put the transport crisis under the rug?” said Terry Ridon, Infrawatch PH convenor and former member of the House transportation committee.

“With Cabinet officials contradicting the President’s observation, we are more than certain that what needs to be done, clearly will not get done,” he emphasized.

On Friday, Panelo said there was a “traffic crisis” but not a transportation crisis in the country after his near four-hour commute from Marikina to Malacañang.

Tugade last Wednesday denied a militant group’s claim that the country is in the midst of a mass transport crisis, saying there are only “transportation problems.”

However, Infrawatch PH noted that in September 2016, Tugade said the country’s traffic and transportation problems constitute a crisis that needed to be addressed.

“Ang transportation at traffic issue ay totoo at hindi state of the mind ... It is a state of chaos we have to address,” he said. “We can journey together and address this crisis and stop it once and for all.”

Ridon slammed Tugade’s latest statement as “shameless face-saving” in order to spare himself the ire of the public and the President.

“Transport officials should not even obfuscate between a transport or traffic crisis. Both are the same as far as the public is concerned, as traffic congestion is certainly the results of poor transport systems in Metro Manila,” he said.

The Department of Transportation noted that Infrawatch is more focused on stirring up controversy rather than seeking solutions to the country’s transportation woes.

“‘Yung mga ganyang statements … makatutulong ba sa gobyerno ‘yan para mapabilis ‘yung pagco-construct ng infrastructure projects? Sinasabi natin ngayon, ano bang gusto nilang pag-usapan, ‘yung definition o ‘yung solution?” Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Libiran told GMA News Online.

Tugade’s comments in 2016 simply reflected the state of the transportation system at that time, Liberan noted.

Tugade and Senator Grace Poe, chair of the Senate public services committee, clashed in September as the senator refused to grant emergency powers sought by the Transportation department.

Tugade has repeatedly said that emergency powers would help the Duterte administration resolve the issues hounding the country’s transportation system. —VDS, GMA News