After the chaos on the streets during last week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, brace yourselves for “hellish” traffic during the Christmas season.
A group calling itself the Filipino Alliance for Transparency and Empowerment gave this warning, as it accused the government of turning its back on its promise to improve the country’s commuter rail systems.
Benjamin Peralta, Fate secretary general, said Filipinos are made to suffer by President Benigno Aquino III while his trusted officials like Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya “continue to make unprecedented blunders and hold on to their posts like untouchable gang chiefs.”
“The slogan of this administration, ‘kayo ang boss ko,’ is just a slogan, a brainwashing tool to make us continue hoping for the best while public money is being wasted on unwanted projects and money-making schemes to line the pockets of the crooks in the government,” Peralta said.
Abaya said in a press briefing in 2014 that about P9.7 billion in rail projects, including the acquisition of 48 new train coaches valued at P3.76 billion, are expected to be completed from September 2015 until the end of 2016, as well as a private sector-funded P1.09-billion automated fare collection system.
Other projects include spending P1.16 billion to overhaul 28 trains, which will be done by 2016, P870 million for ancillary systems and even P50 million to replace “obsolete” escalators.
Despite these promises, Abaya so far, has only completed the upgrading of the fare collection system of both the Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit system. This is despite the increase of fares imposed last January supposedly to improve services for the commuters and for the purchase of additional train coaches.
“Is the government saying, ‘bahala na uli tayo sa buhay natin ngayong Kapaskuhan’? After showing the world this last Apec summit the seamless organizing of the event, will we return to the reality of a chaotic society and services, especially in the mass transport system?” Peralta asked.
Recently, Senator Grace Poe told Abaya that the people “deserve a better DOTC secretary” after the official admitted that the public will have to wait until 2016 before they can see an improvement in the commuter train service.
Last August, a prototype of a new MRT train coach arrived in the country for testing.
Abaya promised that more train coaches will definitely arrive sometime in the first quarter of 2016, improving passenger capacity and mobility.
The MRT ferries an average of 560,000 passengers daily, exceeding its capacity of 540,000 while the LRT Line 1 has an average of 500,000 passengers and the LRT Line 2 has 240,000 passengers daily.
These figures are expected to double this coming December during the Christmas rush.