Drawing flak after saying that there was no mass transport crisis in Metro Manila, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo accepted the challenge to commute from his residence all the way to his office at Malacañang on Friday morning.
Panelo embarked on his journey as a commuter at 5:15 a.m. in Concepcion, Marikina, where he was later spotted by a female commuter waiting for a jeepney going to an LRT-2 station.
He then started sharing photos of his journey inside the jeepney to prove that he had taken the challenge to commute in order to experience what ordinary commuters endure on a daily basis.
While on his way to Malacañang, the members of the media were able to catch up with the spokesperson’s whereabouts and followed his journey to his work.
Panelo boarded four jeepneys before finally hitching a ride on a good Samaritan’s motorcycle at Nagtahan, after the tricycle he was supposed to ride outside the premises of Malacañang malfunctioned.
After nearly four hours, Panelo finally arrived at the Malacañang Palace at 8:47 a.m.
In a press briefing, Panelo said that ordinary workers should leave their homes early in order to reach their destinations on time.
Panelo earlier said that he had been commuting way before he was criticized for saying that there is no transport crisis in Manila, despite the worsening traffic situation along with scaled-back LRT-2 operations.