MOPC forum with DOTr Secretary Tugade
The Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) held its first forum for the year with Transportation Secretary Art Tugade as guest speaker.
Sponsored by PLDT/Smart with support from Philippines Inc. and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCII), the well-attended event at the Manila Golf and Country Club — with the audience composed of businessmen, members of the diplomatic circle as well as media — just goes to show that the issue of traffic and transportation continues to be a hot topic for many people.
The Secretary arrived at the venue with plenty of minutes to spare before the call time, admitting at the start of his speech that he knew he would be “roasted” by the audience if he showed up late. Tugade also brought his “DOTr Team” composed of Undersecretaries Noel Kintanar (Rail), Bobby Lim (Air), Felipe Judan (Maritime), Garry de Guzman (Finance) and Assistant Secretary for Communications Cherie Mercado-Santos to also answer questions from the audience and a panel of journalists composed of ANC’s Kathy Yang, TV5’s Ed Lingao, the PDI’s Miguel Camus and The Philippine STAR’s Louella Desiderio.
He described the current traffic situation as a “state of chaos” that has wreaked havoc on the Filipino family because people are spending less time with their loved ones because of the hours they spend on the road going to the office and then back home. “Traffic has destroyed the fiber of family interconnection and bonding,” he said.
The Cabinet official impressed the audience with his straight, no-nonsense remarks, eliciting applause in several instances especially when he outlined several proposals that will streamline processes, such as the online renewal for driver’s licenses (with a five-year expiration period) and the production of license plates locally instead of having them done outside of the country.
