Bill mandates gov’t execs should commute

A House leader is set to file a bill that would mandate all ranking government officials to ride public transport every Monday.

Iligan Lone District Rep. Frederick Siao, chairman of the House Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation in a statement on Saturday said he believes this will ease traffic congestion as he noted that vehicles on roads will be reduced if government officials will not bring their car to work.

“That would already be thousands of government vehicles off the streets, enough to significantly decongest traffic,” he said.

“Those ranking civil servants should commute using any of the available options: tricycles, jeepneys, buses, FX/UVs, light rail, PNR trains, and TNVS units If they want to use the bike, they can. It’s only during Mondays,” he added.

Siao said ranking government officials are congressmen, senators, division chiefs, mayors, cabinet secretaries, associate secretaries and undersecretaries.

The lawmaker said the concept can be given a trial run all over Metro-Manila and if successful, it can be replicated in other highly urbanized areas of the country where heavy traffic is also a daily torment.

Siao said there may also be a need for shorter North to South bus routes via EDSA as he noted that by the time the buses reach Makati, they are jampacked.

Once the bill, entitled “Public Servant’s Commuting via Public Transport Act” is enacted into law, government officials would be more motivated to solve traffic congestion.

On 11 October, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo endured nearly four hours of commute from Marikina to Malacañang after he accepted the challenge of a leftist organization for him to ride public transport.