The Philippine National Railways should study the possibility of asking the help of local government units (LGUs) to prevent heft of railroad tracks, Senator Cynthia A. Villar said on Wednesday.
PNR officials have earlier admitted that informal settlers living near the railroad likely stole track materials and sold these.
Villar noted that rail tracks are vital public installation that should be secured at all times.
She said some metal parts of the tracks have been stolen, which could be the cause for the rails to be detached.
“It will work for the benefit of constituents when LGU officials help secure rail tracks servicing their district,” she added.
If PNR cannot deploy manpower to patrol its tracks, local police assistance is needed to secure the railways, especially the ones in populated areas, she said.
The senator, chair of the senate committee on government enterprises, said the PNR should also look into the way they conduct routine inspections to assess the structural integrity of the tracks, bridges and station facilities.
“Is this handled by competent people? How frequent do they conduct inspection of the tracks?” she asked.
She backed the decision of the PNR to temporarily suspend its operations to make way for a thorough inspection of the railroad tracks.
While it will cause inconvenience to the riding public, she said inspection is needed while an extensive investigation is underway.
At least 70,000 passengers riding the 50 to 60 daily trips between Tutuban in Manila and Calamba in Laguna are affected by the suspension.
Villar supported RA 10638 which sought to extend by another 50 years the corporate life of the state-owned PNR after its expiration on June 19, 2014.
She described as “unfortunate” numerous accidents involving PNR after the extension of its charter.
She noted that when the Senate passed the bill extending the life of PNR Charter, they believed trains have a lot of potential once they will be improved.