Filipinos hope more government officials would immerse themselves in public transportation after a Cabinet secretary was spotted riding the Metro Rail Transit (MRT).
A Reddit user on Thursday, January 22, uploaded a screengrab of a post by Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac on X (formerly Twitter), in which he shared his experience riding the MRT.
Cacdac posted a photo of himself holding a handrail with the caption: “Yesterday evening, MRT at rush hour. Ayala to Shaw in 15 minutes (smiling emoticon).”
Yesterday evening, MRT at rush hour. Ayala to Shaw in 15 minutes 🙂 pic.twitter.com/6eTv5uJQHx
— hans leo j. cacdac (@HansLeoCacdac) January 21, 2026
“Seeing public appointed officials commuting with the public is something that I see as a good move to let them immerse on the hardship ng mga taong nasa laylayan ng lipunan,” the Redditor said in the “r/Philippines” community.
“I still do wish that more *ehem HoR [House of Representatives], *ehem Senate, *ehem Malacañang public officials do the same. Just sharing lang, and to Sec. Cacdac, kudos po,” the Reddit user added.
DMW Secretary Riding the MRT-3
byu/VodkaMartini_007 inPhilippines
Others also took to the discussion thread to praise Cacdac’s initiative.
“Very good example nonetheless,” another Redditor said.
“Pero ito na sana [‘yung] good start sa mga head ng government para maramdaman nila gaano kahirap mag-commute. :along lalo na head ng DOTr (Giovanni Lopez),” the Reddit user added.
“Sana magkaroon ng batas na lahat ng government officials are mandatory to only use public transportation going to work daily,” another Redditor commented.
“No security [and] no special treatment? If that’s the case, then this is great. Sana dadaming government officials ang mag-public commute rin frequently, hindi ‘yong for picture-picture lang,” a different user said.
“That’s good! I-level up sana nila ‘yung pagmo-monitor. Isama nila sa time ‘yung lakad, plus, time sa pagpila… Lalo na sa Ayala [Station], ang liit-liit ng platform dun, parang hindi pa peak ng rush ‘yung nasa picture,” another Redditor said.
“Allow people like him to normalise and set an example kasi the more of them use it, the more it becomes possible na malaman nila woes ng common people,” a different Reddit user wrote.
“More Cabinet members should be commuting regularly. Good job, Sec. Cacdac,” another said.
It is uncommon for government officials to take public transportation, as most prefer to use private vehicles for convenience and reduced security risks.
The MRT is the busiest rail line because it traverses EDSA, a major highway in Metro Manila that passes through six cities where many Filipinos work.
As a result, it is among the most congested train lines, serving thousands of passengers daily.
Last year, there was a push for stricter immersion of government officials in public transportation after Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez ordered executives of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to commute at least once a week on their way to work.
The initiative required department officials to use available public transportation weekly from their residences to their places of work.
Lopez said the program aimed to allow DOTr officials to gain “first-hand experience in the operations of various modes [of] public transportation to better understand the predicaments of the community or riding public.”
In Metro Manila, it is not unusual for commuters to experience snake-like queues and jam-packed public utility vehicles (PUVs) and trains while traveling to and from work.
