Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto responded on Thursday, Oct. 13, to a Twitter user's post complaining about some inconveniences brought by a road construction project in the city.

On Wednesday, Oct. 12, Sotto addressed, on Twitter, some of the concerns raised by Pasig citizens regarding a road construction project on Sandoval Avenue, particularly the absence of construction workers at the site.

Sotto explained the construction permit of the contractor for this project only allows work from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

"Inoobserbahan po kasi natin ang Occupational Safety and Health Standards. Lalo na't nasa "BREAKING PHASE" pa tayo. DELIKADO kung may works habang maraming dumadaan (We are observing occupational safety and health standards, especially since it's still in the "breaking phase." It is dangerous to do works while so many people are passing by the area)," Sotto said.

"Mas disruptive din kung ipapasara ang buong kalsada. Pag compacting na, maaaring mag-extend ng oras. Nagpadagdag na ako ng signages para mas maunawaan ng publiko. Salamat sa pag-unawa. Para sa ating lahat din naman ito (It's more disruptive if we will close the road. When they start compacting, we can extend the time. I have asked for more signages in the area for the public's understanding. This is for all of us)," he added.

A Twitter user replied to his tweets as follows: "Anung pinag gagawa nio sa mga pasaherong nag aabang ng masasakyan sa may rosario tulay? pinapalipat nio sila sa napakalayung simbahan.." (What are you doing to the passengers who are waiting for transportation at Rosario Bridge? You're forcing them to go and wait at the church that is too far).

Replying to the comment, Sotto said: "Bakit kaya pag nasa ibang bansa tayong mga pilipino, handa tayong sumunod sa tamang sakayan/babaan... kahit paglakarin tayo ng 500 meters sumusunod tayo, no questions asked... Pero pag nasa maynila tayo, magagalit pa kapag inaayos ito..." (Why is it that when we, Filipinos, are abroad, we are prepared to follow the proper loading and unloading areas for public transportation...Even if we are asked to walk 500 meters, we follow with no questions asked...But when we're in Manila, we get mad when we’re fixing this).

The mayor's response has since gone viral, and has been met with varied responses. While some agree with Sotto's sentiment, others have said that the public is not solely to blame.

Some netizens have pointed out that it may be easier to follow street instructions overseas because other countries have "better roads and more accessible public transport systems."

Some have used this opportunity to call for "walkable cities" with people-friendly sidewalks and waiting areas.

"We need to look at issues beyond people and look at systems and resources," said another user.