Unsolicited MRT3 rehab proposal to get Original Proponent Status

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has granted Original Proponent Status to the proponent of an Unsolicited Proposal for the rehabilitation, operations, and maintenance of Metro Rail Transit (MRT)3.

Malacañang disclosed this November 20 as part of Presidential Spokespman Harry Roque’s statement supporting DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade amid calls for the latter’s resignation over the railway system’s problems.

The DOTr is currently pursuing multiple options for getting a competent, qualified, and experienced maintenance service provider for the MRT-3 in the short- to medium-term.

The railway serves 500,000 riders on a daily basis but its problems have been accumulating over decades.

The government expects the unsolicited proposal for rehabilitating and maintaining the railway line can solve the historical fragmented approach of running MRT-3 (separate owner, different maintenance provider, and different operator).

Once implemented, DOTr expects the unsolicited proposal to restore MRT-3’s reliability and double its capacity in the medium- to long-term.

The DOTr has terminated the contract of Busan Universal Rail, Inc. (BURI), the system’s maintenance contractor, citing poor performance and inefficiency, among others.

The department has also filed charges against officials responsible for the current state of the MRT-3 system.

On an operational level, the entire Philippines railway sector — DOTr, MRT-3, LRTA, PNR — have been called on to form the MRT-3’s Maintenance Transition Team (MTT) upon BURI’s contract termination.

Since the team took over, fewer incidences of unloading have been recorded and more train sets have been rolled out during peak hours.

Secretary Tugade’s resignation will not solve the problem says Roque.

“He enjoys the full trust and confidence of the President,” the spokesman confirmed. “The President has said he will back up Secretary Tugade in whatever he may need to effect immediate reform to the MRT.”

President Duterte is not indifferent to the suffering of commuters and that will carry his brand of political will to improve the country’s public transportation system, according to Roque.

“With the President assuming that he will be responsible for the MRT, let us give the President the opportunity to rectify the many problems that his administration inherited from the past. We will show the same political will that the President has shown in his fight against illegal drugs, in his fight against corruption, in bringing this vital service of transportation to the people as well.”

While the ills of the MRT-3 system are the result of cumulative errors in policy and operational decisions made across previous administrations, finger-pointing is not the practice of the Duterte administration, he stressed.

However, the past administration designated BURI as the MRT 3 maintenance provider and the present administration cannot just void the contract overnight, he added.