Three monkey sins

Over the weekend, the news was two trains of the LRT collided. This was later complimented with a side story that the PNR won’t be operational until the middle of June. Add all of these to the regular almost weekly breakdown or stalling on the MRT and we can say that our Mass Transit system is collectively unsafe, unreliable and a clear public safety issue.

Technically we don’t have a real MRT system because what we have, even if they were in good running order, are simply too small, too few and too limited in range in comparison to other countries as big as the Philippines. I recently heard that our trains such as the MRT have actually broken the record in terms of capacity hitting an unbelievable 12 persons per square meter compared to 8 per sqm in China. The reason for this is because we only have the LRT and MRT running through 3 lines while other countries have about 20 to 30 lines in an area as large as Metro Manila.

What I find disturbing in all this is that while thousands of lives are inconvenienced and put at risk everyday, the rolling nightmare is simply credited to the generic incompetence of government. This is unacceptable.

I find it hard to believe that the PNoy Misadministration is simply incompetent in dealing with the weekly problems of the MRT and even the LRT and PNR trains. The fact that President Noynoy Aquino has not shot or fired any of the officials is indicative that there is no sense of urgency or absolute displeasure with the way the MRT and PNR is falling apart and is unable to deliver even the minimum of service expected from an MRT system. One would imagine that PNoy would burst a vein knowing that a PNR train is constantly under threat of derailment because railway parts are being openly stolen by scavengers.

Incompetence may excuse the government’s level of service but it cannot explain away nor should it rob leaders of their social conscience or concern for the serious public safety issue that threatens people’s lives. To ignore or not to act, knowing people’s lives are at risk goes beyond incompetence. It takes deliberate

or willful intent. Even if we choose to be charitable to PNoy and grant that perhaps the President is being fed lies or being told that the government is tied up by an anomalous but air tight contract that prevents them from doing anything, that does not excuse him from not doing anything or ultimately paying the price of command responsibility.

What will PNoy do if all the advanced warnings and incidents ultimately end in a major accident that kills many people on the MRT, LRT, or PNR? We simply have had too many near hits to allow the attitude of the PNoy Misadministration to persist. If LRT/MRT commuters are not ready to file a class action suit for none delivery of service or actual endangerment, can some of our non-aligned Senators at least find out why isn’t government doing anything about the foreseeable collapse of our “Mass Transit System?

Many years ago before GOD put me in media, I asked why the government gave up on developing the Northern Line of the PNR that used to go all the way to La-Union and had a transfer system by bus to Baguio City. I was told that one of the reasons is that such a project would have competed directly with the bus companies of certain Marcos cronies if not Marcos himself. Another chimed in that if bus companies lost out to the more efficient train system, it would have a secondary impact on the businesses of gasoline stations, tire companies, and government taxes. So the bus companies prevailed and even after Marcos passed away, they have become stronger by merely changing hands.

The curious add-on to the story is that after years of being able to fly to Baguio City, air travel was simply shut down due to so-called hazards and difficulties landing instead of finding alternatives by way of a new airport location or installing technology that has long been in use for airport conditions such as the Loakan airport.

Recently I heard that a proposed BRT or Bus Rapid Transit system for a sector in Quezon City was shelved or deferred by NEDA because it may “violate” the None Compete clause of the MRT contract with government because the Buses of the proposed BRT would be running alongside or under the MRT line. These stories are just some of the reasons that lead me to suspect that the breakdown of our so-called Mass Transport System goes beyond incompetence. I suspect it is intentional.

In the public eye, corruption is seen as the illegal transaction where favor directly begets favor or gives undue advantage for projects. Others think its directly stealing or misusing money from public funds. But as we all know sin and corruption can also come by way of “Omission” or simply being one of the three Monkeys who “See nothing”, “Say Nothing” and “Do Nothing.”

Initially, I suspected that by doing nothing, and allowing our MRT, LRT, and the PNR to fall apart to the point where public confidence is lost, the direct beneficiaries would be the bus companies and operators, taxi companies, and support businesses such as gasoline and tire companies. But as I studied the “None Compete Clause” I also remembered that part of the MRT contract is a “Sovereign Guarantee” where the government is committed to pay a fixed or minimum amount as profit to the owners of MRT. As a source told me: There is no incentive for the people who own the MRT to do anything, spend anything or improve anything. Why would they “fix” it when it’s not them who will go broke?

This leads me to conclude that perhaps we should stop blaming PNoy and Abaya but actually motivate them to further investigate who are double agents within the DOTC & MRT who are misleading PNoy and Abaya to do nothing. If they still don’t find or fire someone and do something, then it’s their fault!