Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday called on the government to resolve the plight of commuters who are forced to endure hardships and miseries whenever they travel to and from their work during this pandemic.
Hontiveros noted road travel expenses of ordinary Filipino workers rose by nearly 20 percent during the imposition of the lockdowns.
Seventy (70) percent of the workers have found it harder to go to and back from their offices during this pandemic due to limited public transport.
"The President, in his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) was glossing over the real-life difficulties of commuters, but in reality we know that is not the real struggle of our commuters," Hontiveros said.
"How can you come up with solutions if you keep on denying that there is something that needs to be fixed? In problem-solving, the first step is acknowledge that there really is a problem, and Malacanang should be doing that. Not sugar-coating or boasting about one's achievements," she further said.
Hontiveros said that even before the pandemic, commuters have been bearing the brunt of the lack of efficient public transport system.
They were "knocked out" even more during this pandemic due to the high cost of special trips, long queues in transport terminals and the floods during rainy season.
"Why don't they try to commute so they would experience the difficulties faced by commuters," she said.
"While we opened some roads to make travel time faster, but if there are no public transport available to cater to commuters, what's the use?" she pointed out.
"While road infrastructure is vital, an efficient and reliable public transport should be the priority so we can provide not just safety and comfort to passengers, but also incomes for public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers lalo na ngayong pandemya," she added.
The senator also said it is unacceptable that the P4-billion fund under Bayanihan 2 intended to subsidize bus and jeepney operations was only allowed to expire. She added that the remaining P3-billion budget under the 2021 funds will not suffice to cover one month's shortfall in PUV drivers' incomes due to required physical distancing.
The lawmaker also pointed out there are jeepney drivers who are on the verge of permanently losing their income source since they cannot afford the monthly amortization of modern jeepneys in compliance with the PUV modernization.
"Once and for all, stop invalidating the woes of our commuters and PUV drivers. There are so many Filipinos relying on mass public transportation, that's why we need to put a premium on the welfare of our public transport drivers," she stressed.