Replace Transport head
Commuter group wants DOTr secretary who’s more concerned about plight of drivers and commuters
A HUGE Ccommuter group has joined calls to replace Transport Secretary Arturo Tugade amid reports that the incoming administration is mulling to retain him in his post.
Toix Cerna, spokesperson of the commuters advocacy group Komyut, said the current DOTR leadership has lost the trust of the transport sector.
“Napabayaan talaga ng kasalukuyang liderato ng DOTr ang pampublikong transportasyon. May nsbuo mang programa para tugunan ang pangangilangan katulad ng ayuda at service contracting, hindi naman naging maayos ang implementasyon,” Cerna said.
He added that it would be best for the incoming government to install a new leader who could give hope to the neglected sector.
Last Tuesday, the National Public Transport Coalition also aired an appeal to Marcos to replace Tugade saying the transport sector is the most neglected sector and has seemed to be abandoned in the face of the pandemic and the continued spike in fuel prices.
The NPTC is composed of representatives from the National Confederation of Tricycle and Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (NACTODAP), Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON), Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP), Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator tutol sa Phase Out (STOP), Association of Taxi Operators in Metro Manila (ATOMMI), Unified Transport Alliance of the Philippines (UTAP), Small Bus Operators of the Philippines, Philippine Bus Operators Association of the Philippines, Pilipino Society and Development Advocates, Alliance of Philippine Customs Brokers and Trucking Associations (CTAP), Inland Haulers and Truckers Association (INHTA), Haulers and Truckers Association in the Watersouth (HATAW), Lawyers for Commuters Safety and Protection, Truck Drivers Association of the Philippines, Motorcycle Rights Organization (MRO), Motorcycle Riders of the Philippines, Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization (ACTO).
The coalition signed a joint manifesto asking outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte and his successor, Marcos, “to rectify the transportation sectors’ concerns with transparency, equity and sustainability for all stakeholders immediately.”
“Ang transport sector po ay mahigpit na hinagupit ng pandemya. At ngayon patuloy po kaming pinaluluhod dahil samataas na presyo ng gasoline. Sa gitna po ng lahat ng ito, napabayaan po ng kasalukuyang liderato sa DOTr ang aminghanay. Para po kaming inabandona. Ang pag-asa po namin ay ang pangako ni incoming President Marcos, Jr. na bibigyang-pansin nya ang lahat ng sector at tutulungang makaahonkasabay ng pagpaangat ng ekonomiya. Isa pong solusyon satransport sector ay ang pag-appoint ng bagong secretary saDOTr na tutulong, mag-aalaga at magpapalakas ng aminghanay,” said coalition spokesperson Ariel Lim.
Last Friday, FEJODAP and the Liga ng mga Transportasyonat Operators sa Pilipinas also called for the replacement of Tugade for alleged failure to address the concerns of the transport sector during his six years in office.
“They didn’t just fail to resolve our problems in transportation, but they also added to them,” LTOP president Orlando Marquez said during Friday’s press conference.
Marquez added: “We brought our concerns to Tugade but he never listened to us. In the end, we stopped reaching out because it was a waste of time to write letters and make phone calls. Nothing ever happened.”
