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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Sandro hopes PH public transport can be as efficient as London's

Sandro hopes PH public transport can be as efficient as London's

Published Oct 17, 2022 09:24 am

Have you ever been stuck in heavy traffic or caught in the middle of a kilometric queue to an Metro Rail Transit (MRT) station?

Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos (Facebook)


If so, you should know that Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos hopes that the Philippines would one day have a public transportation system that's as fast and efficient as London's in the United Kingdom (UK), where he used to live in the not-so-distant past.

Not only that, Marcos said that transforming the local public transportation system to something that's akin to London is achievable in this lifetime.

Marcos, in a recent interview with broadcaster Anthony Taberna, reminisced about his time in London in his early 20s when he attended college and subsequently worked for a private firm.

Taberna asked if the rookie solon knew his way around public transport in London, to which the former opined, "Alam mo (You know), the best indicator of good public transportation is, kahit gaanong kayaman ka, kahit gaanong kahirap ka, lahat gumagamit ng public transport (you use public transportation regardless of your financial status, whether you're rich or poor)."

"Eh nakikita naman yan sa London. Ang ganda ng public transport, malinis, mabilis. Kahit mahirap, kahit mayaman, lahat gumagamit ng tren, lahat gumagamit ng bus, lahat gumagamit ng kahit ano man (We can see that in London. The have good public transport, it's clean and fast. Rich and poor people use the train, the bus, and other forms of public transport.

"So hopefully dito sa Pinas, makarating tayo sa sitwasyon na ganun (So hopefully here in the Philippines, we'll reach that situation)," Marcos said.

Asked by the popular broadcaster if such dream is achievable in the lifetime, the presidential son replied, "I think so."

"Nakikita mo naman yung mga railways plans ng administrasyon na ito, medyo malaki-laki. Yung Department of Transportation (DOTr) medyo malaki yung increase mg budget nila dahil railways ang focus (As you can see, the railway plans of this administration are very big. The DOTr will have a huge increase in their budget because the focus is on railways)," noted Marcos, who was referring to the proposed 2023 national budget.

"So hopefully kapag nakumpleto na ay malaking bagay din yan (So hopefully once all of those are completed, it will be a big help to the public)," he added.

Marcos, 28, earned his master’s degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2017. He said he worked in London for at least a year and a half after that.

The interview is posted on Taberna's YouTube channel.

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