Duterte’s spokesman takes three-hour commute to work after accepting public transport dare
- Salvador Panelo agreed to travel by public transport after disagreeing with a group that Manila had a ‘mass transport crisis’
- The stunt led some Filipinos in Manila, which has one of the world’s worst traffic, to lash out on social media
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman, Salvador Panelo, took three-and-a-half hours to get to work on Friday morning after he accepted a dare to commute the way millions in Manila do daily, but seemed to brush off the whole episode as a boyish stunt.
“I really fooled you,” Panelo told the press after taking four jeepneys – passenger trucks – and a motorcycle ride to reach the presidential palace in Metro Manila.
Asked what it felt like being a commuter for 210 minutes, Panelo said “it just takes getting used to, our bodies can adjust to a hostile environment”.
The outspoken former lawyer, who is in his late 60s, took up the challenge after publicly disagreeing with Bayan, a leftist group, last week that Manila had a “mass transport crisis”.
Bayan’s comments came after three of the city’s train lines were separately beset by breakdowns. One of the lines, which recently saw a fire, was so extensively damaged, it has warranted a nine-month disruption to services.