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Cubao to Makati in 5 minutes by December

Malacañang said that President Duterte probably has something up his sleeve when he announced that his administration will reduce travel time from Cubao to Makati to just five minutes.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo stated this after Duterte said over the weekend that commuters and motorists will only have to travel for five minutes when going to Makati from Cubao by December this year.

The President likewise vowed to address flight delays in one month,

Should Duterte make good his promises on these two issues, he could be the country’s president for life, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Monday.

“If PRRD delivers on just these two promises, (1) to cut travel time from Cubao to Makati to 5 minutes within 6 months and; (2) to eliminate flight delays in NAIA within one month, for being superhuman, he deserves to be president for life,” Lacson told reporters in a text message.

But if he fails to fulfill his promises, Lacson said Duterte should be held accountable.

In his Monday press briefing, Panelo said that the people will just have to wait for what the President will do.

“Surprise! He has something up his sleeves. Bakit siya magsasabi na (Otherwise, why would he say that) it will be a five-minute journey?” he said.

While the promise sounded good, Senate President Vicente Sotto III admitted that he does not know how Duterte will fulfill his vow on the Cubao-to-Makati travel time.

“Sounds good but I have no idea how yet,” Sotto said in a separate text message.

The administration has since been pushing Congress to grant President Duterte the emergency powers to solve the traffic crisis in Metro Manila, one of his promises when he was still campaigning for the presidency in 2016.

Panelo said that it is now up to Congress if they will grant President Duterte emergency powers to resolve Metro Manila’s traffic woes.

“Congress knows what the problem is so it should know what to do to respond to a situation,” he said.

“After all they are there, just like the President, to serve the Filipino people. And that includes putting the riding public in the convenient situation,” he added.

But the bill languished in Senate, as senators were wary of the possible corruption in the vast authority requested over transport and traffic matters.

President Duterte has already rejected being given emergency powers to resolve the worsening traffic in EDSA after hearing reports that this may only lead to corruption.

According to Duterte, he would rather let EDSA stay the way it is than being tagged in corruption.

“In Congress, Grace Poe made a comment. She said: ‘That amount of money is just too big. We might lose all that money to corruption.’ So when I heard it – we don’t know each other that well – I told the Congress: Never mind. I will not ask for money anymore, forget it,” Duterte said last month.

The House of Representatives, meanwhile, approved on third and final reading last December its version of the emergency powers bill.

The Lower Chamber, however, designated the Department of Transportation secretary as the “traffic chief” and gave him the authority to immediately solve land traffic and transport problems.

But Sotto in a radio interview earlier said the Senate might approve the requested emergency power in the 18th Congress “if really necessary.”

“Palagay ko, kung talagang kakailanganin, dito sa 18th Congress, mapapasa na (I think, if the emergency power is really necessary, it will be passed in the 18th Congress),” he told radio DZMM last May 29.

Source:mb.com.ph

Cubao to Makati in 5 minutes by December

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