‘Workers need safe public transport’
SENATE Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Tuesday said the government must provide safe public transportation if it wants to revive the economy that has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic
Reacting to reports on how returning workers had a difficult time getting a ride on Monday, the first day of the general community quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila, Drilon said the Department of Transportation (DoTr) “could have done better.”
“The chaos and the hardship that our commuters had to endure was a result of poor planning. It shows the lack of foresight and the insensitivity of the government to the true need of the poor,” he added.
“It cannot go on like this. If we are to revive the economy, then we have to make sure that our workers get to their work without compromising their health and that of others,” Drilon said.
Sen. Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros agreed with Drilon and urged the government to adopt a service contracting program with the transportation sector to prevent a looming commuter crisis.
The senator said the government must ensure enough public utility vehicles ( PUVs) such as buses, jeepneys and other public transportation in areas under GCQ.
The shortage of PUVs “has forced commuters to line up in long, crowded lines, or ignore physical distancing and other health guidelines just to find ways to get moving,” she said.
“The lack of transport options is not just an emerging crisis for commuters, it is also a serious health hazard,” Hontiveros said.
She said the government should immediately tap the private transportation sector and adopt a service contracting scheme so that more public transport becomes available for Filipinos going back to their jobs and businesses.
Hontiveros said the government could solve the problem through service contracting with operators and drivers of buses, jeeps and other public transportation, as proposed by the MoveAsOne coalition and other advocacy groups.
Under such contracts, operators and drivers will be paid by the government a per kilometer fee to ply their routes.
“If expanded on a national scale, it will be a great way to immediately increase the passenger capacity of our transport systems in Metro Manila and elsewhere,” she said.
The scheme, Hontiveros said, will allow the government to enforce the strict implementation of physical distancing and other health guidelines in public transportation vehicles.
She added that the fixed fees for drivers and operators would also remove the hazards attached to the current “boundary system.”
“By adopting service contracting, we can make our public transport options safer and more efficient for the commuting public at the earliest,” Hontiveros said.
She cited the proposal by the Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa that such service arrangements be made on a rotational basis.
“To protect our commuters, the government should coordinate with our transport sector to expand, not limit, our public transport options in the weeks to come,” she added.
Temporary
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade on Tuesday assured the public that the “inconvenience” suffered by commuters in Metro Manila would be “temporary.”
“Ma papa lit an ho it on gt in at a wag natinna long lasting convenience and connectivity and mobility of people. Ako po ay nakikiusap na dapat magkaintindihan tayo, dapat magkapit-bisig (It will be replaced by long-lasting convenience and connectivity and mobility of people. I implore that we should understand, we must join hands),” he added.
He said that what happened on Monday was a failure in implementation of plans that the government can correct.
Until June 21, public transport is limited to train and bus augmentation units, taxis, ride-hailing cars, point-to-point buses, shuttle services, and bicycles.
Tricycles are also allowed subject to the approval of local government units. Provincial buses are still barred from entering Metro Manila.
Meanwhile, public utility buses, modern jeepneys, and UV express vans would be allowed to operate from June 22 to June 30.