Sherwin Gatchalian Wants Senators to Feel the Struggles of Filipino Commuters
SHERWIN GATCHALIAN – Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian believes lawmakers should experience commuting firsthand to better understand the challenges faced by the riding public.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian encouraged fellow senators to experience commuting to work, saying lawmakers could better understand the challenges faced by ordinary passengers by personally using public transportation.
Gatchalian made the suggestion during a Senate finance subcommittee hearing on the Department of Transportation’s proposed P300.96-billion budget for 2027. His remarks came after Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez discussed a memorandum order requiring key DOTr officials to commute at least once a week.
Lopez said he continues to follow the directive but does not publicly document his commuting experiences on social media. However, he admitted that he could not confirm whether all of his subordinates were complying with the policy.
“To be honest, I don’t know if my subordinates are doing the same. That’s something I cannot check anymore,” he said.
Gatchalian praised Lopez for observing the policy without turning his commutes into social media content. He then suggested that senators could also adopt a similar practice. He specifically mentioned Sen. JV Ejercito, who has been known to regularly travel to the Senate by bicycle.
“In fact, us senators should also do this, to be honest about it,” Gatchalian said.
Major Railway Projects Expected to Ease Traffic
The hearing also tackled the government’s plans to expand the country’s railway network and reduce road congestion. According to Lopez, the combined operations of the North-South Commuter Railway, Metro Manila Subway, MRT-3 and MRT-7 could eventually accommodate as many as five million passengers each day.
Lopez made the statement in response to Sen. Erwin Tulfo’s concerns about the Philippines’ transportation system compared with those of other ASEAN countries.
“When all that combines and is operational, we see it benefiting up to five million passengers every day using that railway system,” Lopez said.
He explained that if the projected five million railway passengers were compared with an average of five people per vehicle, the railway system could potentially take about one million vehicles off the roads.
Meanwhile, Gatchalian raised concerns over P295 million in commitment fees paid to foreign lenders for transport projects that have experienced delays. He cited P91 million incurred by the South Commuter Railway Project and P85 million by the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project, with right-of-way issues contributing significantly to delays.
“Whether the project is on time or not, that is our obligation for them making the loan available to us. This P295 million, these are commitment fees that were incurred because of delayed projects,” Gatchalian stressed.
He urged the DOTr to review and cancel unnecessary Official Development Assistance loans to prevent additional costs from accumulating.
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