TALK STIR: Does Bong Go Have Something to do with DOTr's Malasakit Help Desks?

To assist hapless Filipinos as they travel using various modes of transport in the country, the Department of Transportation (DOTr), through its attached agencies, is establishing what it calls as the DOTr Malasakit Help Desks (MHDs) in major transportation hubs throughout the country.

A response to the continuing challenge of President Rodrigo Duterte to government agencies "to make the Filipino life comfortable," the Malasakit Help Desk "is a one-stop shop for passenger assistance in airports, seaports, train stations, and land terminals. It serves as a convenient and accessible nexus for various government services in public transport."

As an integrated assistance center, the DOTr Malasakit Help Desk can receive or handle airport/seaport/terminal-related inquiries and complaints, provide road-related assistance (i.e., booking TNVS/taxi rides), facilitate the refund of terminal fees, provide attestation of cause of trip cancellation or delays, deliver emergency medical assistance, accept reports of possible security threats, and extend other forms of assistance to passengers or commuters.

For the road sector, Malasakit Help Desks can be found in the Araneta Cubao Terminal and the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange, as well as in five MRT stations.

"Malasakit means 'concern' or 'care' beyond duty or requirement," said DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade in a statement. "For the DOTr, it means going over and beyond the basic services a transportation hub is established for. At our Malasakit Help Desks in airport terminals, for example, you can inquire about road-related services, or connectivity with other local airports. This kind of public assistance--the kind that takes the extra mile--truly springs from the spirit of ‘malasakit’ to our fellow Filipinos and our visitors."

However, in an online message board created specifically by the DOTr for members of the media that cover the transportation sector, Rappler's Aika Rey questioned the use of the name 'malasakit' and how it shares the same name as the 'Malasakit Centers' that have been closely identified with former Special Assistant to the President (SAP) and current senatorial aspirant Christopher Lawrence 'Bong' Go ever since he led the opening of the first one at the Philippine General Hospital in September 2018.

The government's response in the same online message board via DOTr Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Oliveros-Libiran?

"The Filipino word 'malasakit' captures the essence of compassionate public assistance the DOTr wants to deliver to Filipinos," Oliveros-Libiran explained. "'Malasakit' means 'concern' or 'care' beyond duty or requirement. For the DOTr, it means going over and beyond the basic services a transportation hub is established for. At our Malasakit Help Desks in airport terminals, for example, you can inquire about road-related services, or connectivity with other local airports. This kind of public assistance--the kind that takes the extra mile--truly springs from the spirit of 'malasakit' to our fellow Filipinos and our visitors."

Officially, the DOTr clarified that "there is nothing political in the opening of Malasakit Help Desks in major transport facilities across the country."

"While we cannot deter conjectures on the branding of Malasakit, the DOTr maintains that the establishment of MHDs has nothing to do with politics," the DOTr said in a statement. "DOTr officials and employees will not engage in the volley of politicking this election season. We remain focused on the goal of delivering transport infrastructure and programs to the Filipino people as fast as possible and as fast as we can."

So there you have it--Bong Go has nothing to do with the DOTr's Malasakit Help Desks officially. Unofficially though, the power of name recall or name association is something else.