By Betheena Unite

Demonstrating one’s empathy on the woes of the traveling public can still be done even without accepting transport challenges “that are media-oriented,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said Thursday.

“I can demonstrate my empathy without accepting challenges that are basically media-oriented. I will accept the challenge and I will do it on my own time, in my own way, which I have been doing anyway,” Tugade said on the sidelines of the 118th founding anniversary of the Philippine Coast Guard.

Tugade said he has done it “very quietly” during a series of test runs for the new Dalian trains and the Holy Week.

“Sinubukan namin yung Dalian very quietly, sumakay ako with mga tao. Ibig ba sabihin na kung hindi niyo nakikita at hindi namin sinusubukan? Mandato ko ho ‘yan and I will do it on my own professional and judicious way (We tried Dalian very quietly, I tried it with the public. That does not mean that when you can’t see it, we’re not trying it. That’s my mandate and I will do it on my own professional and judicious way),” Tugade said.

From those “quiet” rides on the trains, Tugade said, he had realized what the problems are but he does not believe that there is a transport crisis in Metro Manila.

“There are problems from rails to coaches to signaling to jeepneys. There are problems in terms of discipline,” he said.

“Mayroong transport problems, mayroong transport issues – that is given, pero ina-address ‘yan. Komo ba may transport problem may transport issue, mayroon nang transport crisis? Hindi ho dumaan sa ganiyan ‘yan. Kasama na ‘yan sa tinatawag na exacerbating the situation dapat ‘pag nag-exacerbate ka ng situation, dapat ‘wag ganiyan ang gawin natin, magtulungan po tayo (There are transport problems, there are transport issues – that is given and those are being addressed. Just because there are transport problems does not mean there is a transport crisis? That does not work that way. It’s part of the what we call exacerbating the situation. That’s what we should do, we need to help each other),” Tugade stressed.