Over 1.2 million commuters were given free rides across three rail lines in Metro Manila on the first day of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Labor Day “Libreng Sakay (free ride).”

In a situation update on Thursday, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said the figure is at an “all-time high” in Libreng Sakay ridership across the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), LRT-2, and the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3).

“[This] underscores the program’s significant impact and the overwhelmingly positive public response to the Libreng Sakay Program of the government for Labor Day,” the DOTr said.

The program, it said, is Marcos’ “heartfelt gesture of appreciation for all the hardworking Filipino workers for their contributions to the country.”

The four-day free ride program started on April 30 and will end on May 3.

On Wednesday, DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon spoke to passengers at the Ayala Station of the MRT-3 as part of an inspection on the first day of the free ride program. (PNA | Raymond Carl Dela Cruz)