Following Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade’s assurance to improve MRT 3’s service with the arrival of new spare parts for the trouble-ridden train system, Senator Grace Poe said the public will hold him to his self-imposed deadline.
“What they were saying that by the end of February, the sufferings would be lessened since the spare parts which they ordered eould be arriving. We are all indeed bored [from waiting]. So perhaps our deadline for Sec. Tugade is his promise that by the end of February, the MRT situation will be better,” because the parts will arrive,” said Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public services.
The average number of MRT passengers has significantly dropped due to the continuous decline in the aging train system.
The government took over the maintenance of MRT 3 after it canceled its contract with the train system’s previous maintenance contractor, Busan Universal Rail Inc.
The government accused BURI of being remiss in its contractual obligations to procure sufficient spare parts for the trains.
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.
“That was the first assurance (Sec. Tugade made) in recent memory. If it won’t happen, we will have a problem here,” Poe said.
Poe said the public has yet to see improved services with the train system operating below capacity, resulting in longer queues in train platforms and daily service disruptions.
Poe said the DOTr should hasten efforts to find a reliable and efficient maintenance provider for the upkeep of the MRT.
Poe also urged the Ombudsman to expedite the filing of criminal cases against former Transportation Sec. Joseph Emilio Abaya for entering into disadvantageous contracts with the unusable MRT trains from China.
