DOTr mulls returning 48 unusable MRT coaches to China

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Wednesday said the unusable light rail vehicles (LRVs) purchased during the Aquino administration may still be returned to China at no cost to government.

During the Senate finance committee hearing on the proposed budget of DOTr for 2018, Undersecretary for Rails Cesar Chavez said his office has written to at least four internationally-known third-party auditors that would certify that the 48 LRVs are not compatible with the country's Metro Rail Transit (MRT) system.

"'Yung audit na 'yan sasabihin sa 'tin kung pwede ba tumakbo or hindi or ibabalik na lang sa China. ‘Yun ang ginawa ng Singapore, ng Malaysia, ng Hong Kong," Chavez said.

The LRVs, costing P3.8 billion, were ordered from China’s Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co. during the previous administration.

Chavez said the LRVs were "three tons heavier than what is required in the contract."

"What is required in the contract is 46,300 kilograms without passengers. Ang binigay, 49,700 kilograms. That’s three tons heavier than what is required in the contract," he said.

Out of the 48 LRVs, only 29 have been installed with signalling systems, the DOTr official said. Of the 29, only four have been certified to be readily available and can be deployed but "with a caveat."

"If we allow the four LRVs to be deployed, there should be a technician inside every day. In the morning operations, we should be listening to sounds. Anong klase 'yun?" Chavez said. 

Senator Grace Poe, chair of the Senate public services committee that is conducting an investigation on the MRT system, said someone should be held accountable for the purchase.

"We should take them into court. It is not a case of vendetta, but a case of justice for the public that’s been suffering," Poe said.

The DOTr's proposed budget for 2018 is P73.84 billion, a 33-percent increase from this year's P55.7 billion.

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade reported to the Senate commmittee that his agency has an 80-percent absorptive capacity, which was questioned by Senator Joel Villanueva.

“The absorptive capacity is only 80 percent so that gives me a problem there... We are all concrned about this because 'yunt TRAIN na sa Senado na. Lahat kami kinakausap, kino-convince magtaas ng buwis, mag-raise ng maraming funds for the Build, Build, Build program," Villanueva said, referring to the tax reform program dubbed as Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion.

"You have to help us na we’re ready, not to only to justify, but to make sure well be able to spend the money you’re asking for," Villanueva said. —KBK, GMA News