Malacañang expressed its support on Monday for Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, amid resignation calls for the transportation chief due to recent incidents involving the operations of the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT 3).
The Palace added the government is “doing its best” to address MRT 3 problems that have accumulated for decades.
According to Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr., while the Palace understands public dismay over the MRT 3 system, calling for Tugade to resign will not solve the problem.
“He [Tugade] enjoys the full trust and confidence of the President. The President has said he will back up Secretary Tugade in whatever he may need to effect immediate reform to the MRT [3],” Roque said at a news briefing.
Sabotage?
Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II, meanwhile, said he has officially ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the possibility that sabotage was behind the decoupling incident of an MRT 3 train last week.
Aguire made the announcement in an interview with reporters at the NBI’s 81st founding anniversary celebration in Manila.
The DOJ chief said he has issued a department order for the NBI to conduct the probe following a request from the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
“My specific order is to continue looking into the sabotage angle, because there seems to be a basis for such. It is very remote that decoupling of coaches would happen accidentally.… If there is no human intervention that is very, very hard to happen,” Aguirre said.
Although it is not impossible to happen, Aguirre added the NBI should look into whether the sabotage angle has basis.
Roque also assured train commuters that President Duterte is not indifferent to the suffering of commuters, and that he will carry his brand of political will to improve the country’s public transportation system.
“With the President assuming that he will be responsible for the MRT 3, 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,” he added.
Errors
While the woes of the MRT 3 system are the result of cumulative errors in policy and operational decisions made across previous administrations, Roque was quick to clarify that finger pointing is not the practice of the Duterte administration.
“We are not resorting to finger pointing,” Roque said.
The DOTr, he added, has already terminated the contract of Busan Universal Rail Inc., the system’s maintenance contractor, citing poor performance and inefficiency, among others. Charges against officials responsible for the current state of the MRT 3 system have already been filed, demonstrating that failure to deliver on the responsibilities of public office carries consequences, and that those accountable will be held liable.
On an operational level, the entire Philippines railway sector — DOTr, MRT-3, Light Rail Transit Authority, and Philippine National Railways — 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, Roque said.
The DOTr, he added, is also currently pursuing multiple options for getting a competent, qualified, and experienced maintenance service provider for the MRT-3 in the short- to medium-term.