MRT3 cleaning staff suspended, to be retrained after careless train disinfection

Personnel of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) are facing "disciplinary action" for the careless haste in disinfecting the trains amid the COVID-19 pandemic, its operator said over the weekend.

In a statement released Sunday, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said it has taken matters to address public concerns after a video was uploaded online, showing cleaning staff hastily disinfecting the inside of the trains.

"We are assuring the riding public that matters have been taken to prevent a repeat of that unfortunate incident and that the personnel involved are now facing disciplinary action," it said, but did not elaborate on the sanctions.

In Jonathan Andal's report on GMA's "24 Oras Weekend" on Sunday, MRT3's director for operations Michael Capati said that the two cleaners have since been suspended. They were said to be hired by Sumitomo Corp., the maintenance provider of the rail line.

He also said that he spoke with Sumitomo to increase its monitoring of the staff.

"Hindi tino-tolerate ng DOTr 'yan, ng MRT3. Lalo na ngayon, tumataas na naman ang numero ng mga COVID cases natin, the more na dapat vigilant tayo diyan [The DOTr doesn't tolerate that. Especially now that the number of COVID cases is going up, we have to be more vigilant]," he said. 

The cleaning operations of the MRT3 are conducted after reaching the end stations, North Avenue and Taft Avenue. Done properly, the cleaning lasts five minutes and is based on the seven-minute miracle cleaning done in Japan's Shinkansen.

Capati said that he has ordered some of the staff to be re-trained, saying that regular cleaning of the trains gives the riders confidence that the MRT3 is safe.

"Ngayon, kung meron mang nagva-violate diyan, we encourage naman ang publiko na i-report sa amin [We encourage the public to report violations]," he added.

The statement comes amid a spike in the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases being reported in the country. The health department on Saturday, March 13, recorded over 5,000 new cases, the highest daily tally in over seven months.

Last month, the Department of Health (DOH) also said that one of the 19 UK coronavirus variant cases was linked to an employee of the MRT3.

The case is a 46-year-old female resident of Pasay City whose child is an employee of the MRT3. She tested positive on January 25 and underwent home quarantine. —LBG/BM, GMA News