DOTC blames MRT Holdings for sad plight of MRT 3

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) yesterday blamed MRT Holdings Inc. (MRTH) for the sad state of the Metro Rail Transit 3.

DOTC spokesman Michael Arthur Sagcal said MRTH and Sumitomo Corp. of Japan failed to properly maintain the mass transit system a few years ago that prompted the government to take over the country’s mass transport system along EDSA.

“Had MRTH performed its obligation to address the system’s problems during the time that it was in charge of maintenance through Sumitomo, the MRT-3 would not be in such a state today,” Sagcal said.

The DOTC official issued the statement after MRTH spokesman David Narvasa accused the government of failing to provide MTR Hong Kong enough documents to assess the operations and maintenance of MRT-3.

Narvasa claimed that the DOTC provided MTR Hong Kong, the third party auditor tasked to audit the MRT, only a month’s worth of documents instead of records for the past five years.

Likewise, he added that MTR Hong Kong was also not given records by the DOTC pertaining to the series of MRT breakdowns.

The lawyer added that the DOTC failed to provide MTR Hong Kong with the records of previous and current maintenance providers, including PH Trams/CBT and Autre Potre Technique (APT) Global Inc.

“MTR HK was given only one month’s worth of records of Global-APT and no records at all pertaining to PH Trams. How can MTR HK submit a complete audit report when they have not received all of the records that it needs from DOTC and Global-APT?” Narvasa said.

Narvasa also emphasized the importance of MTR Hong Kong being given a copy of the maintenance log.

“DOTC also hasn’t shown the maintenance logbook and the history of failures which MTR HK also needs to determine the true condition of the MRT-3 System,” he added.

The audit stemmed from the freak accident last Aug. 13 when a defective train of MRT-3 overshot the platform at Taft station and slammed into the concrete wall and injuring 36 passengers. A series of breakdowns has also hampered the operations of the mass transit system.

Due to lack of records, the MTR Hong Kong audit was primarily based on a site investigation of the depot and a visual inspection of the trains.

“MRT Holdings wishes to emphasize that it asked for this MRT-3 audit to be performed immediately to determine the true condition of the MRT-3 System and to ensure that DOTC operates it with the safety and comfort of the MRT-3 commuters in mind.

“The reason we have been pushing for this assessment is so that we would have a clear idea of the true state of the MRT today; so that all stakeholders would know what needs to be done. Until we have that complete and accurate assessment, how can we address the current problems of the MRT?” Narvasa added.

For his part, Sagcal reiterated that there is no final report yet on the results of the audit conducted by MTR Hong Kong.

“MRTH is again mistaken since there is no final report yet from MTR Hong Kong, and full access to documents covered by the scope of the audit was given to the MRT team,” he said.

According to him, MRTH is not part of the audit, which is a tripartite undertaking among Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC), DOTC-MRT3 and MTR Hong Kong.