By Genalyn Kabiling

Filipinos are living in “purgatory” given their daily struggle in commut­ing to and from work due to traffic congestion along EDSA, President Duterte admitted on Wednesday.

The President acknowledged the hardship of the commuting public in Metro Manila and encouraged con­cerned government agencies to “in­novate” and improve public transport and ease traffic congestion.

Duterte said he sympathizes with workers who wake up early to commute to work, go home late due to traffic, and still find time to take care of their family.

“Ganun kahirap at kapurga­toryo ang Pilipino (That’s how hard and purgatory-like the life of Filipinos),” he said during the oath-taking of newly promoted fire, jail and coast guard officials in Malacañang.

“Kaya ako, you have to under­stand my mouth kung saan napu­punta. Galit talaga ako sa oppression and I hate corruption (so you have to understand my mouth that goes elsewhere. I am really angry with oppression and I hate corruption),” he said.

Duterte admitted that while he usually takes the helicopter to avoid road traffic, he feels sorry for the commuters in Metro Manila.

“Iyong bago akong Presidente we realized the impact of the EDSA congestion on the lives of the people commuting. Alam mo sa totoo lang hindi ko lang masabi na – hindi ko masabi-sabi na naaawa talaga ako sa tao (At the start of my term as Presi­dent, we realized the impact of the EDSA congestion on the lives of the people commuting. Frankly speak­ing, I cannot just say that I really pity the commuters),” he said.

“Alam mo hindi para sa atin eh kasi… eh ako mag-chopper ako kung ayaw ko ng traffic (It’s not for me because I can use a chopper if I want to avoid traffic) and it’s not me who decides, ‘yung security guys. Pero ‘yung mga tao na mag-commute hanggang umaga (while the people commute until the morn­ing),” he added.

Duterte said a worker usually goes home late at night after enduring long commute due to road traffic. When the worker comes home, the person still looks after the family, cleans the house, washes clothes, and prepares food for the next day.

“Alam mo, the average worker ng gobyerno o private, they go home at about mga 8, 9. They ride the bus, ‘pag traffic diyan, it will take her to arrive something at 11 at any of the junctions there. And she takes another ride or two rides para makauwi ng bahay (The av­erage worker in government or private sector, they go home about 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. They ride the bus. If there’s traffic, it will take her to arrive something at 11 p.m. at any of the junctions there. And she takes another ride or two rides to reach her house),” Duterte said.

“Kaya pagdating ng bahay maglaba pa ‘yan. Ayusin ang mga bata tulog na, at maglaba, maglinis. Tapos magluto ng pagkain hanggang umaga for break­fast. Dumating ‘yan minsan alas-onse, alas-dose, ala-una. Matutulog ‘yan alas-dos, alas-tres (When she comes home, she will do the laundry. The kids are asleep. She still cleans and then cooks food for breakfast the next day. If she arrives at 11 p.m., 12 or 1 a.m., she will likely sleep at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m.),” he added.

The struggle begins again as soon as the worker wakes up the next day and prepares her children for school.

“She wakes up at about 5, 4. She wakes up the children tapos prepare them for school. Basta kaya ng ano ihatid niya, or isama niya ihatid niya, then she reports to work (She will bring them to school then reports to work),” Duterte said.

To ease such hardship of commut­ers, the President said the government must learn to adopt innovation in en­hancing transportation and mobility.