One day not enough, Panelo should take public transpo for 6 months —commuter group

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo may have hurdled his commute via public transportation on Friday — albeit for more than three hours — but a commuter group said he should do this not only for a day but for six months.

In a report on GMA News 24 Oras Weekend on Saturday, commuter group Kongreso ng Mananakay said doing the "commute challenge" for just a day is not enough to gauge the severity of transport problem plaguing commuters.

But in a statement, Panelo thumbed down suggestions that he again go through the ordeal of commuting from his residence to Malacañang, saying doing it again was already pointless.

"Leftists and detractors are starting to forward one additional challenge after another. There is no longer any point of accepting any," Panelo said.

"I knew the traffic woes that the commuters and workers go through even before I accepted the challenge... I empathize with their everyday plight. And this administration is doing its best to resolve this long-standing problem that we have been facing for more than a decade," Panelo said.

The spokesman on Friday traveled from Quezon City, to Marikina, then Malacanang for 3.5 hours after being challenged by several groups to take public transportation following his statement that there is no transportation crisis in Metro Manila.

Panelo, after the challenge, maintained his position on the transport issue but acknowledged that there is a traffic crisis. — MDM, GMA News