Malacañang said Tuesday there was no mass transportation crisis yet and said commuters could still get rides to reach their destinations.
This came after the Light Rail Transit Line 2 suspended operations, prompting Bayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes Jr. to say the country was facing a mass transport crisis.
“What do they mean by transportation crisis? All I see is traffic. We can all get rides,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters.
READ: Mass transport crisis? 3 railways reset by woes
“No [crisis] because commuters can still arrive at their destinations.”
LRT 2 resumed partial operations between Cubao and Recto stations on Tuesday.
In a statement, LRT Authority Administrator Reynaldo Berroya said the resumption of operations came after thorough safety checks had been completed.
“The signaling, telecommunications, power supply systems, tracks and the trains for these stations have been cleared and in normal condition. Hence, we are now ready to serve the riding public, Berroya said.
But Senator Joel Villanueva said the transportation crisis should prompt labor regulators and employers to use alternative solutions such as implementing telecommuting to maintain the productivity of workers.
“We want to create more options for our employees to fulfill their duties while minimizing the need to go out of their homes and travel to their places of work, said Villanueva, who championed the passage of the Telecommuting Law.
Meanwhile, House transportation committee head Edgar Mary Sarmiento will meet today, Wednesday, with all stakeholders in the transport sector to find the quickest solution to ease the transportation crisis.
Sarmiento said he called for the meeting hoping to find the quickest, most doable and most practical solution to solve the problem.
Panelo asked the LRT management to resolve its issues and to improve its services.
“There should be an improvement. We cannot be like this forever,” he said.
“There should be an improvement in the LRT. They should tell why it’s bogging down. If maintenance is the problem, you’re not maintaining it properly. The management of LRT should know how to respond to this.”
The LRT 2 implemented partial operations from Cubao to Recto station after a power rectifier tripped and caught fire in-between stations, which has made commuting a nightmare for the 200,000 passengers who use the train service daily.
READ: Fire hits LRT 2 power transformer
The Anonas, Katipunan and Santolan stations will be closed for at least nine months since repairs still need to be procured, the LRT Authority said.
The LRT 2 normally accommodates passengers daily through its 11 stations running from Santolan in Pasig to Recto in Manila.
While the LRT problem remains unresolved, Panelo advised commuters to leave earlier than usual so they could reach their destinations.
“If you want to go, arrive early in your destination, then you go there earlier,” he said.
Panelo also claimed there had been a “big improvement” in terms of the rail system since it now only bogged down once a week instead of every day.
Aside from the railway inconvenience, Metro Manila is notorious for its traffic jams in major thoroughfares such as EDSA. With PNA, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz
