DOTr officials told to take public transport once a week

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez on Monday ordered the agency's road and rail officials to take public transportation once a week to better understand the concerns of commuters.

To be implemented on September 17, Wednesday, the memorandum aims to implement effective transportation projects and programs as these officials will experience what daily commuters have to deal with.

The following officials are obligated to commute at least once a week from their respective homes to their offices:

• Undersecretary and Assistant Secretary for Road Transport and Non-Infrastructure
• Undersecretary and Director for Road Transport and Infrastructure;
• Undersecretary and Assistant Secretary for Railways;
• Assistant Secretary, Executive Director, Regional Directors and Assistant Regional Directors of  Land Transportation Office (LTO)
• Chairman, Executive Director, Regional Directors, and Assistant Regional Directors of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)
• The Administrator of Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA)
• The General Manager of Philippine National Railways (PNR)
• The General Manager of DOTr-MRT3

They are also mandated to submit a weekly accomplishment report that contains their observations, recommendations, and plans of action, with proof of compliance, to their respective undersecretaries.

The undersecretaries will then collate the reports and submit them to the Office of the Secretary, which will be discussed during meetings of the DOTr Executive Committee.

“Itong mga opisyal natin sa Road at Rail sector, sila talaga ‘yung mga dapat lumalabas lagi kasi karamihan ng ating mga proyekto ay nasa mga sektor na ito,” Lopez said in a statement.

(The officials of our Road and Rail sectors should always be out in the field, because most of our projects are in these sectors.)

“‘Yung mga ibang opisyal naman sa ibang sectors, hinihikayat din nating mag-commute dahil ito lang talaga yung paraan para makita at madama first hand kung ano ba ang hirap na nararanasan ng mga commuters,” he added.

(We also encourage other government officials to commute, because this is really the only way to truly see and experience the difficulties our commuters go through.)
— Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News