Senator��slams Duterte admin for denying public transport problem��

OPPOSITION��SENATOR Ana Theresia��“Risa”��N.��Hontiveros-Baraquel��on Thursday��criticized the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte for failing to recognize the continued difficulties faced by��commuters��and public transport drivers.����

“How will you make a solution if you keep on denying that there is something that needs to be fixed? In problem-solving, the first step is to acknowledge that there really is a problem, and that is what the Malacañang should be doing, not to sugar-coat and carry their own boat,” said Ms. Hontiveros in a press release.����

Mr. Duterte, in his��final State of the Nation Address��Monday, glossed over the��transport problem by saying��the government had��“taken away the misery of public commuting.”����

Ms.��Hontiveros��also��expressed disappointment that P4 billion under the Bayanihan II or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act��was allowed to expire when it was intended to subsidize bus and jeepney operations.����

Bayanihan II was a stimulus package of P140 billion plus a P25.5-billion standby fund, which was��supposed��to benefit industries and sectors��most��affected by the coronavirus��pandemic.��

“Yes, we opened roads to quicken travel time, but if no public vehicles will run to cater to commuters, what’s��the point? If congestion is not on roads, you will see these on long lines instead,”��she��said.��—��Alyssa Nicole O. Tan��