Newly installed Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) president Atsuhiro Okamoto tried out various modes of mass transportation in Metro Manila in order to fully understand what Filipino commuters go through everyday.
Only on his first week in the country, Okamoto said that he rode a bus, took a roundtrip of MRT, rode a jeepney going to Makati, queued for a long time to ride the UV Express and also took a tricycle to Tondo.
“I decided to do “Genchi Genbutsu,” or to “Go and see” the daily struggles of Filipino commuters,” he said. After his commute, Okamoto said that he realized that the Philippines’ current mass transport system is not enough to accommodate the huge number of daily commuters, unlike his native Japan, or Singapore.
Upon experiencing the status of the country’s mass transport system, Okamoto said that he would like Toyota to take part in this big challenge to upgrade the quality of life of many Filipinos.
“For me, it’s a good learning experience,” he said.
Last year, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo took on the challenge of his critics to commute in order to experience what ordinary Filipino commuters brave everyday.
Panelo made the decision after Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said the current situation of the mass transport system is already considered a crisis.