Senate resumes hearing on MRT plague

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Senate sub-committee on public services resumes its public hearing on the woes hampering the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) -3 and other railway transits in the country today.

The subcommittee chair Sen. Grace Poe, sent invitations to officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Metro Rail Transit (MRT), Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), Metro Pacific Investment Corp., and the Center for Commuters to attend the hearing.

The meeting was initially scheduled on Nov. 4  but DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya declined the invitation due to his flight to Malaysia and attended press conferences regarding the  laglag-bala (bulllet planting) scam in airports.

“This MRT issue is a really sad issue. It’s one of the things I wish to focus on because it affects even our economy,” Poe said in an interview with Manila Bulletin.

Poe said the officials’ weakness and slowness in deciding affects the economy and she was saddened by the issue on the public transits.

She also intends to ask questions to the officials regarding the frequent accidents and technical problems on the tracks resulting in train malfunctions and delaying the train arrival on stations.

Broken MRT trains and tracks poses a big inconvenience to the 650,000 commuters. Poe also questioned the MRT contracts entered by the government because it employed and sustained the companies that do not have the capability to maintain the railways.

“ The MRT contract is shameful. But when they entered into the contract, they still failed to address the issues plaguing the MRT. That was the ultimate problem). Why would they sign a contract and award it to a company that lacks the capital and experience in managing trains? They gambled on the safety of our commuters), Poe said.

Poe also added the current maintenance provider could not even fix the toilets and other facilities in the train stations.

The last sub-committee hearing on MRT was held in February, but Poe inspected the prototype trains from Dallan, China in September.

Unfortunately, the coaches arrived in the country without engines, which would be purchased in Germany. And the country’s tracks are not compatible with the new engines for test run.