What the Commuters Need is Action and Not Reaction

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya "Not Fatal" remark as his answer to the traffic problems and woes of the Philippines drew mixed reactions from different sectors of our society. Some labelled him as incompetent and insensitive, while others called him a stupid man.

But is the remark a genuine outburst of the heart or plainly a slip of the tongue? Whatever the reason may be, still it does more harm than good in addressing the present traffic woes Metro Manila residents and nearby provinces are daily dealing with.

So Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya is waiting for fatalities before he acts on the tons of problems of DOTC and MRT. His line of reasoning is directly pointing to one thing.... He really does not care with the traffic situation and the safety of the passengers. He lacks genuine compassion, the sincere desire to alleviate other people's misery.

Think about this Sec. Abaya.... what is fatal is loss of work hours for hourly paid workers which is fatal to the health and nutrition of their families. On average, each commuter had to endure 4 hours a day of traffic taking the public transportation caused by your incompetence and lack of vision in handling the affairs of DOTC.

Not burdensome? Sec Abaya, imagine a working mother having to leave home early while her children are still sleeping and arriving late when the children are asleep.

Abaya, what is fatal is what the riding public want to do to you. The riding public has been very patient, overly patient with you. People are fed up of hearing "have patience" over the past five years. All they know is that all the money for the maintenance of MRT-LRT were not being used for that purpose. And they have to suffer every day?

There are many solutions out there, big and small, that would ease this massive problem. It only takes a political will to do what needs to be done to address the issue. Time for action, have the guts, Sec Jun Abaya!