Abaya, Sobrepeña give respective sides on MRT 3 woes during Senate hearing

The Senate public services committee turned into a mediator on Wednesday while the Department of Transportation and Communications chief Joseph Emilio "Jun" Abaya and Fil-Estate chair Roberto Sobrepeña gave their respective sides to the story on the sorry state of the mass rail transit system MRT 3.

 

"Maliwanag ang rason kung bakit ang sama-sama ng serbisyo ng MRT-3... ay dahil sa sitwasyon ng may-ari at nagpapatakbo ng kumpanya," Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero said during a committee hearing Wednesday.

 

"Everyone has a responsibility... That is why we are here right now. You should sit down and talk instead of filing cases against each other," the senator said, addressing both DOTC and MRTC representatives.

 

In his opening statement, Sobrepeña revealed MRTC tried four times to buy new trains for the mass rail system as early as 2004, but there was no action on the part of DOTC.

 

Fil-Estate is a major equity holder in MRT Holdings Inc. II,  which in turn holds a significant stake in MRT operator MRT Corporation (MRTC). 

 

Why problems arose

As for the maintenance issue, Sobrepeña pointed out those problems only arose after the DOTC terminated the contract with Sumitomo Corporation in 2012. 

 

He noted that Sumitomo had a "single point responsibility" to design, build, and maintain the trains. 

 

"The most important loss was... of the single point responsibility. This loss has now lead to the current state of finger-pointing," he said. 

 

"Sumitomo handled everything including parts and service. Nothing else have to be bought by the government or the private sector," he added.

 

Sumitomo increased its service rates from $1.4 million a month to $2 million in 2012, prompting DOTC to terminate deal with the Japanese contractor. 

 

Sobrepeña defended the company, saying Sumitomo really needed additional funds to overhaul the trains.

Sumitomo out, PH Tram in

 

With Sumitomo out of the picture, the maintenance of the trains was transferred to PH Trams in 2012, after it was award the contract after 12 days of bidding conducted by the DOTC under an emergency procurement rule. 

 

The maintenance of the mass rail system has since been given to APT Global Inc., and contract is renewable each month. 

 

DOTC's Abaya said the government replaced Sumitomo because "... we have reservation in the conditions of Sumitomo."

 

"Why would the price be increased, if the provider would not do warranties," he said, noting they are able to penalize the current maintenance provider over the glitches in the MRT operations.

 

It was revealed in the hearing that both the offer of  Sumitomo and current maintenance provider APT Global did not provide any warranty. 

 

Abaya claimed that PH Tram has given the government terms of warranty. 

 

The Senate hearing was prompted by various resolutions seeking shed light on why an MRT 3 train malfunctioned last August and slammed through a steel barricade at the Taft Avenue Station in Pasay City, injuring dozens of commuters. – VS, GMA News