DOTr urged to keep its promise and expedite MRT repair
Senator Grace Poe, chairman of the Senate committee on public services, urged on Sunday the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to expedite actions aimed at providing a reliable and efficient maintenance provider for the Metro Rail Transit’s (MRT) upkeep.
Poe, in an interview over dzBB, said this is the most urgent task at hand for the DOTr, especially for Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, who has earlier assured the passengers of an improvement in the MRT-3 services by February.
“Talagang urgent ‘yan. Pero siyempre kailangan din nila ng ulo. Kailangan nila ng isang magpapatron at magsasabi kung ano ang gagawin, ano ang kailangang i-order, at ano ang kailangang bantayan (That’s urgent. Of course, they need someone who will lead. They need a leader who will say what to do, what to order and what they need to guard against),” said Poe.
“Matagal na kasi nilang sinasabi sa atin na by December of 2016 (magiging maayos na ang serbisyo). Ilang extension na yan na iba-ibang dahilan, (They have long promised us that their services will improve by December of 2016. How many extensions have the management made and each time they have different reasons),” the senator added.
Poe reminded Tugade that the public is expecting better services by the end of the month. Tugade earlier assured that brand-new spare parts for the MRT rail system have started arriving.
The senator pointed out the average number of MRT passengers has significantly dropped due to the continuous decline in the aging train system, even after the DOTr has ordered spare parts to improve MRT’s reliability as of December last year.
The government took over the maintenance of the MRT after it canceled its contract with the train system’s previous maintenance contractor, Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI) which it accused of being remiss in its contractual obligations to procure sufficient spare parts for the trains.
However, Poe said the government must consider other solutions to address the problems hounding the MRT if it fails to improve its services based on its target.
At the same time, Poe urged the Office of the Ombudsman to expedite the filing of criminal cases against former transportation secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya for entering into troublesome contracts over the unusable MRT trains and the inefficient maintenance provider.
She said she was poised to draft another committee report to discuss, in detail, the accountability of Abaya and former Transportation officials on the MRT mess.
“Ayaw natin ng paghihiganti. Ang gusto lang natin ay pananagutan (we do not want revenge. What we are just after is accountability),” she said, adding that lawmakers’ hands are “tied.”