He really did it! Salvador Panelo takes 3 jeepneys and a motorcycle to MalacaƱang Palace

Photo: Jervis Manahan/ABS-CBN News" width="100%" />
Reporters trail after Salvador Panelo as he takes public transportation this morning. Photo: Jervis Manahan/ABS-CBN News

Well, folks, we have to admit we were a little skeptical (OK, a lot skeptical), but olā€™ Salvador Panelo actually did it: this morning the presidential spokesman stepped into the shoes of an average ManileƱo to take not one, but three jeepneys and a habal-habal to commute from his home in Marikina to his office at the MalacaƱang Palace.

And it only took three and a half hours!

Panelo undertook the grueling commute (or, as its known to non-presidential spokespeople, a completely typical commute) after an activist youth group challenged him to get to work via the capitalā€™s ailing public transit system after he reacted dismissively to comments that Manila is facing a ā€œtransport crisis.ā€ Panelo even went on to suggest that if commuters wanted to arrive at their destinations on time, they should simply leave a little earlier ā€” an idea that infuriated countless netizens, who have endured multi-hour commutes for years.

Read: Sal Takes the Jeepney: Panelo accepts challenge to commute to MalacaƱang via public transport

Today, however, Panelo put his morning commute where his mouth is.

Clad in a white shirt, black slacks, and a white cap, President Rodrigo Duterteā€™s most passionate defender was spotted in the village of Concepcion in his hometown of Marikina at 6:45am waiting for a ride, CNN Philippines reported A Twitter user named Rya Ducusin also said she overheard a cop asking Panelo if he needed a taxi, with the latter allegedly replying that he was looking for a jeepney that would take him to Santa Mesa, in central Manila.

Just prior, at around 5:30am, Panelo gave an interview to radio station DZMM in which he claimed that he was on a jeepney, but refused to divulge his location. He said he had accepted the challenge because he wanted to prove that he knew what ordinary Filipino commuters went through every day.

ā€œI donā€™t have to ride a jeep [or] MRT to know the state of the nation,ā€ he said in a mix of English and Filipino. ā€œThe president is looking for a solution, [Transport] Secretary [Art] Tugade is trying to find a solution. Everyone is trying to look for a solution, but the nationā€™s problems are not that simple.ā€

He also stubbornly stuck to his earlier opinion that Manila is not in the midst of a transport crisis ā€” while somewhat confusingly also acknowledging that ā€œwe really have a problem.ā€

ā€œIā€™m saying thereā€™s no crisis because thereā€™s no paralysis. We have a crisis because our people are suffering,ā€ he said.

ā€œThere is no doubt that ordinary folks, even those who drive in their cars, who take air-conditioned vehicles, all of them are suffering. But if you ask if thereā€™s a crisis in transportation, I said there isnā€™t because there is no paralysis and we still have vehicles to ride on.ā€

He also refused to apologize for his prior insensitive comments about people leaving their homes early.

ā€œWhen I said people should leave early so that they can arrive at their destinations [on time], [I said that] because we really have a problem ā€” so you have to do something about it. Thatā€™s what I also do, even if I have my own car. I wake up early so that I arrive at my destination [on time].ā€

ā€œWe canā€™t just curse at our situation and do nothing. We have find a way to solve it,ā€ he said.

Despite an earlier pronouncement that he was willing to commute with prominent government critic Renato Reyes ā€” whose claims of a transport crisis Panelo had first dismissed ā€” olā€™ Sal traveled alone this morning. Reyes, meanwhile, turned up at the currently shuttered Santolan LRT-2 station forlornly wondering where his political frenemy was.

ā€œSantolan, 5:15am, while waiting for a free ride going to LRT-2 Cubao station. Where is Sal Panelo today?ā€ Reyes said in a Facebook post.

Manila Standard reports today that Panelo finally arrived at MalacaƱang Palace at 8:45am, after spending three hours and 30 minutes traveling there from Marikina ā€” a distance of about 15 kilometers. He did not take the LRT-2, as he previously said he would, but instead took three jeepneys and one motorcyle taxi, or habal-habal. (If heā€™d have followed Coconuts Manilaā€˜s suggested jeepney-LRT-walk route, he could have saved about 40 minutes, but hey, you can lead a horse to waterā€¦)

Even Paneloā€™s nemesis Reyes congratulated him on his monumental achievement, while also admonishing him in a Facebook post that he still got to the MalacaƱang ā€œa bit late from the official government [start] time of 8am.ā€

ā€œJust the same, we hope this whole experience underscored the fact that there IS a mass transport crisis and that long term solutions are needed,ā€ Reyes added. ā€œWe have a serious mass transport crisis which we can no longer downplay or ignore.ā€

What do you think of Paneloā€™s stunt? Tell us by leaving a comment below or tweeting to @CoconutsManila.

Find all episodes of The Coconuts Podcast




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