MANILA, Aug. 3 (PNA) — Two things are clear from the Vice President’s speech: first, he does not have any solutions at all to MRT-3’s problems; and second, he does not even understand the root of the problem, which is the onerous BLT contract.
This is proof that you cannot solve a problem that you do not understand.
Moreover, one who chooses to be blind to reality also loses the ability to hope for a better situation for the public – which may be why he has given up on finding solutions and calling MRT-3 trains “rolling coffins.”
If this is how he views these trains, it speaks volumes of how he views its riders.
For his and the public’s information, this is the reality that he chooses to be blind to:
The DOTC has already purchased 48 new train cars, which under the BLT contract should have been done in the mid-2000s by the private owner of the MRT-3. In fact, the prototype will arrive this month. This will increase the 15 train sets currently running during peak hours. 15 train sets is equivalent to 45 train cars, which number is nowhere near the seven trains he misleadingly claimed.
The rehabilitation of escalators, elevators, and even toilets are all in progress.
These are only the problems that he identified without offering a solution to. Apart from these, we have procured over 7,000 new rail tracks which will replace the worn-out rails over the coming months. We are also about to award the contract to upgrade MRT-3’s signaling system. Other improvement projects such as new radio communication devices and rail grinding machines are also being procured.
Most importantly, the DOTC has fully cooperated, attended, and answered every investigation into alleged anomalies by the institutions established to fight corruption and to promote transparency in government, be it the Senate, the House, the Office of the Ombudsman, the NBI, or the COA.
As brotherly advice to the Vice President, we suggest that he also fully cooperate with investigations into his alleged corruption before the Senate, the House, and the Office of the Ombudsman – and to tell the truth. (PNA)