Makati court OKs DOTC bid to buy new trains

MANILA, Philippines - The Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 66 on Thursday denied for lack of legal basis, the instant petition for preliminary injunction filed by the Metrorail Transit Corp. (MRTC) to stop the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) from pushing through with its plan to buy 48 new light rail vehicles (LRVs) from a Chinese company for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3 system.

In its ruling dated February 20, the court ruled that the Constitution mandates that public interest is of utmost significance and must take precedence over individual interest.

"Guided by the tenets of the law and the State's duty to protect its people, the Court likewise takes this occasion to take judicial notice of the current transport situation in Metro Manila. The Court cannot close its eyes on the prevailing traffic situation when it is aware that there are proper remedies to alleviate the same," the court said.

"As a vanguard of public interest, the Court shall take this opportunity to do its share in providing a progressive solution to our traffic situation by allowing the government to accelerate its program to increase the procurement of additional units of LRVs to be utilized in our present railway system," the ruling signed by Presiding Judge Joselito Villarosa added.

In the last hearing on February 13, the MRTC said it has not waived its right of first refusal on purchase of additional LRVs for MRT3

In the hearing, former MRTC chairman Robert John Sobrepeña testified that the MRTC even submitted proposals to the DOTC to buy brand new LRVs in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

"Our agreement with the DOTC was to supply brand new trains," Sobrepeña told the court. He added that the MRTC proposal to buy new trains was approved in 2000 by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

However, Sobrepeña said government wanted a "triggering event" for the purchase of new LRVs to push through.

Sobrepeña said the "triggering effect" was for the MRT to reach a daily riding capacity of 350,000. That figure was reached and reported by the DOTC in 2000.

Sobrepena said the MRTC again proposed to buy additional LRVs in 2004.

"We renewed the offer and to also improve the system to allow for new trains to come in," he said.

Sobrepeña said the DOTC agreed and even formed a technical working team to study the MRTc's offer.

However, Sobrepeña said the idea of purchasing second hand trains was floated by the DOTC and the House Transportation Committee.

"That did not come from us but from the DOTC. I was not in favor. What we want were brand new trains," he said.

Sobrepeña told the court that in 2008, the DOTC became delayed in its lease payments to the MRTC, forcing the MRTC board to focus on the lease collection and not on line expansion.

In 2008, the MRTC and the DOTC then agreed to solve the collection issue by arbitration in Singapore.

"We offered brand-new trains for expansion. That offer is still pending but the reply of the DOTC was to supply second-hand trains," Sobrepeña said.

Sobrepeña however stressed that MRTC is still open for negotiations with the government for the purchase of brand new LRVs for the MRT3 system.

The MRTC earlier filed a petition with the Makati RTC Branch 66 to stop the DOTC's plan to buy 48 LRVs from the CNR Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co. of China, which it says is in violation of the existing build-lease-transfer agreement entered between the DOTC and MRTC on August 8, 1997.

Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 66 Judge Joselito Villarosa earlier granted MRTC's petition for preliminary injunction with a 20-day temporary order of protection to stop the DOTC.