SMC completes cadetship program for MRT-7

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Corp. (SMC) expects to commence operations of Metro Rail Transit-7 (MRT-7) in 2025. 

As part of the preparations, some 74 railway professionals under SMC’s cadetship program have recently completed their mandatory training under the Philippine Railways Institute (PRI), a rail transport and research center in the Philippines.

SMC president and CEO Ramon Ang said the MRT-7 project is not just about infrastructure, it’s also about people whose duty is not just to operate a mass transit system, but to serve Filipinos.

“That is why your training is among our top priorities. We always have to be at the top of our game, because what we do will make a big difference in the lives of so many Filipinos,” Ang said.

Furthermore, Ang said the cadetship training is a vital step toward ensuring that the soon-to-be-operational mass transit system would provide an enhanced commuting experience for Filipinos.

The Fundamental Training Course (FTC), which started in July, was structured to provide the cadets with specialized skills and expertise to handle the sophisticated operations of the MRT-7, set to revolutionize urban transit in the country.

Separately, SMC earlier sent 40 cadets to Seoul to train under KORAIL, South Korea’s railway operator and the conglomerate’s technical partner. The cadets completed their training in September.

 Speaking on behalf of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, Department of Transportation Undersecretary Paul Yebra lauded the cadetship training, saying that one of DOTr’s goal is to upgrade railway standards through human resource competency development.

Of the 74 cadets who completed the FTC Cycle 7, 27 of them graduated from the railway engineering program of state-run Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP).

One of the cadets who graduated from PUP’s railway engineering program is Chrystelle Mhae Ibarreta, who said that she and her fellow cadets are grateful to SMC for opening the cadetship program to fresh graduates because it gave them an opportunity to become a railway professional.

The MRT-7, among the big-ticket and critical transportation infrastructure projects of SMC, will connect Metro Manila and Quezon City to Bulacan and is among the big-ticket infrastructure projects of SMC.

The 22-kilometer railway system, which will have 14 stations from MRT-3 North EDSA to San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, is expected to help lessen congestion on major roads going north.