Business Insight

Tuesday, October L5, 20tg

Panelo to critics:
Give traffi,c solutions,
otherwise shut up
BY JOCEIYT MOI{IETIAYOR
CHIEF Presidential Ligal Coun-
sel Salvador Panelo yesterdal'
dared cdtics and detractors of the
Duterte administration to come
up wi*r solutions or suggestions
on hov best to address the traffic
situation in Metto Manila instead
of merely issuing negative state-
ments on the governmEntt mass
transpoltation progmm.
Panelo, also the concurrent
presidenrial spokesman, took a
. potshot at Vice President Leni
Robredo and said her cdticisms,
along with the opposition's endless
negative comments, will not help
solve the traffic problem.
"Hindi makakatulong iyan. Mag-
bigay na lang kasi ka,vo ng proposal
para makatulong kayo sa pamaha
laan. I1.on ang solusyoo doon (It
sri[ not help. Just submit a pro-
posal to help government. That is
the solution there)," Panelo said in
a briefing in Malacaiang
He was reacting to Robredo's
v,'eekend statement chiding him
for downplaying the uaffic situa
tion when he said that there was
no mass transport cdsis.
Panelo stood by his position and
reitemted that a mass transport
ctisis means a paralysis of the mass
ttansportation system, which is not
the case in *re couotry.
\flhat th€ metropolis is dealing
witl-r, he said, was a trafFc crisis.
Panelo took the press briefiog
as an opportunity to apologize to
commuters who might have been
inconvenienced vzhen he engaged
his critics aod accepted the "Com-
mute Challenge."
He said he had personally kept
the details of his planned commute
to avoid media coverage and so as
not to cause a spectacle.
He joked that it was the media
that caught up with him alrd man,
aged to follow him that caused the
inconvenience on the commutefs.
Panelo said he took up the chal-
lenge because he wanted to prove
wrong criticisms that Malacarirng
w'is no't iware of the traffic and
mass transportation problems
See PANELO) PageB5

PANELO
expetienced by commuters on a
- daily basis.
Panelo on Fri&y rode rttee public
jeepneys from Marikina Ciw and
. evrn hitched a ride ftom -otot"u"f.-
, riding commuter to get" to his oifice
: on time, He atrived in the Palace
compound some 4O minutes late
- Xign Rep. Ftedaick Siao said he
, intends to file the proposed PubJic
Servant Commuting Via Public
' Transport Act which would require
, governmentofficials torideapublic
transport at least once a weelc
Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene
: Brosas welcomed Siao's call to enjoin
lawmakers to commute to work
every Monday, adding dnt President
Duterte should also be made to
cofilmute to personally expedence
. the difficult life of colnrnuters
"We want coogt"ss-.o anl
senatots and elnen the President to
'!
personally experience rhe hardship
of commuten. dre ordinary peoplg,'
tsrosas said.
At tlle same time, Brosas said
lawmakers and top govetnment of-
ficials Iike Cabiner secretaries should
also be made to receive minimum
wage to truly undersund $e pirght
ot otdinarv workers-
'1t wo,rld be bettel if senators
and congressmen will be made to
receive minimum wage so they'll
experience how to budget t}eir
measly salaries. setting aside money
for transportation, food because
that's what pubJic ofdcials should
do, How can we be gtounded if we
dont even experience aking public
transpoltation?" she told repofteis.
Congressmen and senatots re-
ceive a mond y salary of W95,191
or Salary Grade 31, exduding trans-
portation and communication al-
lowances, while minimum wage
eamen receive P16,110 or P537 a
day without a day-off
As this developed, Panelo ac-
knowledged the observations of
urbanplannerRlino"fun" Palafox Ir .
dutinsuffi cientinFasuu.tor..orn
uted to t}le taffic situatioq no.*
Palafox, in a television intervieq
also said too much polirics and the
lack of continuity added to the
traffic in Metro Manila.
Panelo said the incumbent gov-
ernment is not blaming past ad-
minis&ations but noted thete had
been some approved in&astructure
projects duting the Marcos presi-
dency t}at wete scrapped under rhe
adminisnation of dre late presidenr
Corazon Aquino administration.
He said a similar thing happened
during the Arroyo government
where some infrasftucture pro-
grams had been approved which
was scrapped dwing the Benigno
Aquino III ad ministr
^t:or'.
- With
WentuIl Vigilia

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