Secretary undercover

“ For Secretary Tugade, the whole experience is an immersion into the daily lives of the common commuter.

When government officials conduct inspections in public spaces, they are inevitably thrust into public attention. Media coverage usually follows.

In the case of transportation, the general consensus of the public encourages officials to commute and use the country’s various modes of public transport with no security and no special treatment.

Some have specifically wanted Department of Transportation (DoTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade to commute himself, never mind if he grew up dearth in resources and have always known how to commute. Secretary Tugade rides the bus, jeepney and the rail lines, such as the MRT and the LRT, even before he became the Transportation chief.

There has been a huge amount of clamor as to why Secretary Tugade does not want any media coverage during his worktime. Some are wondering why the Secretary prefers to shy away from the media. The truth is, he is just not comfortable when there are cameras tailing him wherever he goes. He is but a simple man looking to get the job done. That’s just how he works.

A day before the influx of passengers heading into this year’s Undas, Secretary Tugade put on his cap and went on his workday. His agenda: commuting without fanfare to truly assess ground situation.

He took the Point-to-Point (P2P) bus in Alabang going to Greenbelt in Makati with no media coverage.

Together with officials from the DoTr, Secretary Tugade then booked a Grab ride, surprising the driver that the hardworking government official is now his passenger. The driver was so starstruck that he offered the officials a free ride, which he, of course, declined.

After being dropped off at the MRT-3 Ayala station, Secretary Tugade inspected the Land Transportation Office License Renewal Office and rode the train going to North Avenue station. He then proceeded to the MRT-3 depot to get a closer look at the ongoing rail welding assembly that will commence this month. During the inspection, he saw one of the welders smiling with a set of broken teeth. To the welder’s surprise, the Secretary instructed representatives from Sumitomo Corporation to provide dental assistance to the welder just in time for Christmas.

Secretary Tugade went back to ride the MRT-3, engaging himself with the riding public as he headed to the Taft Avenue station, then shifting to the LRT-1 going to Baclaran station, and finally proceeding to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange.

Call it a one-day commute challenge, but for Secretary Tugade, the whole experience is an immersion into the daily lives of the common commuter. He genuinely asked for feedback from the public on how they envision the country’s public transport systems should be, and at the same time, he constantly gave instructions to his fellow officials for immediate action in the improvement of services and facilities.

Last month, Secretary Tugade acknowledged that he will commute at his own time, which he has been long doing anyway. Unannounced and unbothered, the Transportation chief went on to commute before All Saints’ Day, with the goal of understanding and experiencing the country’s current state of public transport.

Upon assuming office in 2016, Secretary Tugade had one vision: public transportation should be an equalizer. And as he rode multiple public vehicles, he saw that the vision can be truly achieved.

Secretary Tugade might have commuted undercover, but he made sure that the Filipino people felt that the government is here to make public transport an equalizer. Riding a P2P bus and riding the trains in Metro Manila, he was an equal with the people.

No cameras, no security, no VIP treatment. This is an official who used to hang on to the estribo of a jeepney as a young man, and is now the Secretary of Transportation, driven to make the Filipino life comfortable.