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HEADLINES

MMDA: Commuters to blame

for chaos
By: Dexter Cabalza - Reporter / @dexcabalzaINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:45 AM June 03, 2020

MANILA, Philippines — The chief of the

Metropolitan Manila Development
Authority (MMDA) on Tuesday blamed
commuters for the chaos on the roads on
Monday, when the government loosened
coronavirus restrictions in the metropolis
to allow more movement and business
reopenings to revive the economy.

MMDA General Manager Jose Arturo

Garcia said the people “seemed to have
lost focus” that the new coronavirus that
causes the severe respiratory disease
COVID-19 was still around and could
spread wider with the easing of
restrictions on public transportation.

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“They were focused on traveling even

though they [knew], just as the
Department of Transportation said, our
first priority is health and safety,” Garcia
said in a radio interview.

He cited the crowding of hordes of

commuters along Commonwealth Avenue
in Quezon City on Monday, with no one
giving others a wide berth as they waited
for rides that never came.

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Garcia also mentioned the crowding on a

truck that police deployed to ferry
stranded commuters.

“When they saw the free rides, many

commented on social media that
commuters fought over these, they were
on the road, there were no lines. They
were each to his own and forgot that the
priority is to stay safe from [the
coronavirus],” Garcia said.

Ariel Inton, head of Lawyers for

Commuters’ Safety and Protection,
slammed Garcia’s remarks as insensitive,
“assuming that people are stupid or
stubborn.”

“The only reason they are outside is

because we reopened so many businesses,
and they would not have gone [out to go
to work] if they [had not been] asked,”
Inton said.

Transport officials allowed the three

metro trains, so-called augmentation
buses, and Philippine National Railways
to resume operations at limited capacity
for the reopening of the metropolis to
economic activity.

They also allowed taxis and ride-hailing

company cars to return to the road, as
these can operate on apps for cashless
fare payment.

But they banned jeepneys, UV Express

vans, and city buses that serve most of the
routes through business districts in the
metropolis because it would be difficult to
implement the cashless fare system on
these vehicles, making them risky for
virus transmission.

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But without these vehicles, low-income

workers, the bulk of Metro Manila’s
workforce, cannot go to work. Transport
officials encourage the use of bicycles, but
don’t say how people can ride bicycles
under heavy rain during the rainy season,
which is almost here.

For more news about the novel

coronavirus click here.
What you need to know about
Coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call
the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local
1149/1150.

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