Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 20) — Despite the frequency of the glitches that continue to bog down the operations of the Manila Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3, Transport Secretary Art Tugade still holds the confidence of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“He 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 of the MRT,” said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Monday.
Roque said Malacañang is observing Tugade’s actions on resolving issues plaguing the MRT.
Roque added, “Tingin ko po hindi pa po dumadating yung panahon na kinakailangan na tanggalin si Secretary Tugade.”
[Translation: I think the time to remove Secretary Tugade from his post has not come yet.]
No finger pointing going on
Malacañang said the administration is not pointing any fingers at who should be blamed for MRT-3 mishaps.
Roque said President Duterte is even accepting responsibility for the technical glitches which have inconvenienced the public.
He said, “Tinatanggap po ng Presidente ang responsibilidad para magkaroon ng malawakang reporma diyan sa MRT na maibsan ang problema ng ating mga mananakay.”
[Translation: The President accepts the responsibility on the need for large-scale reforms at the MRT so passengers are relieved of this problem.]
This comes after Senator Grace Poe said the administration should stop blaming the previous administration for the MRT glitches.
In a radio interview on November 17, Poe said, “Wag kayong makukuntento sa pagsisisi lang sa nakaraang administrasyon. Kailangan na rin na patunayan din ninyo ang inyong sarili sapagkat lagpas na rin kayo ng isang taon diyan at wala pa kaming nakikitang kongkretong mga hakbang.“
[Translation: Don’t be content with just blaming the past administration. You have to prove yourself because you’ve been there for over a year and we have yet to see concrete solutions.]
Roque appealed for the public’s understanding as the government looks for solutions to the MRT’s woes.
“Humihingi lang po kami ng panahon dahil unang-una ‘yung mga kontrata po na ipinasok ng administrasyon, unang-una na po diyan ‘yung kontrata ng Busan, kinakailangan po ‘yang ma-rescind, kinakailangan po ‘yang mapawalang-bisa,” he said.
[Translation: We are asking for a little time as the contracts entered by the previous administration, first of which is the one with Busan, has to be rescinded, it was to be nullified.]
Busan Universal Rail, Inc. (BURI) was the MRT’s former maintenance provider. The government pre-terminated its contract with BURI on November 6. It was supposed to end in 2019.
RELATED: DOTr: Gov’t to take over MRT maintenance
The government has since taken on maintenance for the train system. However it is studying an offer from the Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC), the government’s private sector partner, to take on maintenance responsibilities.
RELATED: DOTr studying private owner’s offer to maintain MRT-3
Last week, over a hundred passengers had to get off a northbound train in between the Buendia and Ayala stations. They walked on the tracks for 10 minutes to get to safety.
READ: Passengers walk from Ayala to Buendia stations after MRT train detaches
A link between two MRT coaches also broke during the Thursday morning rush hour.
RELATED: Transport official: Missing MRT train ‘black box’ a possible sabotage
CNN Philippines Digital Producers Ver Marcelo and Pia Garcia contributed to this report.
