“A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation.” – Gustavo Petro

Commuters, rejoice! Department of Transportation acting secretary Giovanni Lopez is requiring officials from the Road and Rail sectors to commute to work via public transportation at least once a week. These include:

• 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 the Land Transportation Office
• Chairman, executive director, regional directors, and assistant regional directors of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board
• The administrator of the Light Rail Transit Authority
• The general manager of the Philippine National Railways
• The general manager of the DOTr MRT-3

All of these officials will be required to submit weekly accomplishment reports. These don’t serve just as proof of compliance, but also as crucial feedback on how to improve our transportation system.

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

It’s one thing to ride public transportation; it’s another to depend on it. Hopefully, this will serve as a good wake-up call to the very people who actively shape the transportation system that Filipinos use every day.