No cover-up of MRT-3 incident in North Ave. station, officials say

There was no cover-up of the recent mishap in the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), officials of both the MRT-3 and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Saturday.

The DOTr made the clarification after Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta Rep. Jericho Nograles alleged that the management of MRT-3 covered up a "near-deadly" incident last Tuesday at the North Ave. Station.

"No cover-up and we at DOTr will never allow a cover-up. In fact, I disseminated our findings to online and mainstream media yesterday that it was not due to 'grasa' and 'init ng panahon' as claimed by Busan," Transportation Undersecretary for Rails Cesar Chavez told GMA News Online, referring to maintenance provider Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI).

"The day after the incident, I tweeted that I didn't agree with the 'grasa' and 'init ng panahon' explanation of Busan," Chavez said.

Nograles, in his statement, said that the incident was not reported to the public in an apparent effort to "cover-up" the negligence and inefficiency of  Busan and conceal the true state of the MRT-3 system.

The lawmaker said that MTR-3 commuters were spared from harm as the incident took place after the train had offloaded passengers before making a turn around to fetch south-bound passengers.

For his part, MRT-3 OIC Director for Operations Deo Manalo said the management has, in fact, called for a press conference following Tuesday night's incident.

"'Yun pong nangyari is Tueday ng gabi around 8 p.m. By Wednesday nagtawag kami ng media as early as 9 a.m. Gumawa na kami ng press conference. We narrated what happened... 'yung derailment on Tuesday for turn-back. Ibig sabhin walang pasaherong dala," Manalo said in a phone interview.

"It's a single bogie derailment, it's not catastrophic, but it's a serious accident but it happened na walang pasahero," Manalo added.

This was echoed by Chavez, saying that though the train involved was not carrying a passenger and the incident happened at the turn-back area, it was still a major concern for DOTr that "we cant afford  to sleep in our job."

'Rolling coffins'

Nograles said that at around 8:08 p.m. last Tuesday, the MRT 3 operation was halted and the management could only claim that the train system suffered a glitch.

"It turns out that this was more than a glitch because one of its trains was actually derailed due to a serious systems malfunction," the lawmaker said.

Chavez, however, said that in the report of Manalo and MRT-3's independent consultant Seoul Metro JV to Secretary Arthur Tugade, the derailing was due to a mechanical problem as a "logical consequence of poor maintenance by Busan."

Nograles claimed the incident was the first case of derailment on MRT-3's whole service history.

"This is a very serious sign that the system is now in a state of serious disrepair and could already be unsafe for the riding public," Nograles said.

"We were still fortunate that the train contained no passengers and the speed was slow. It could have had disastrous consequences if it was derailed while it was still filled with passengers," the lawmaker said.

"What happened last Tuesday is more serious than what happened in 2014 when an MRT train overshot its tracks because the train was literally removed from its tracks! A lot of deadly scenarios can happen if the train was running on normal speed and was filled with passengers," Nograles added.

The lawmaker emphasized that Tuesday's incident should serve as a warning to the MRT-3 management to compel BURI, to fully comply with its contract with the MRT-3, including the full repair and restoration of train trucks that are now inoperable due to various defects.

With this, Chavez said that the DOTr gave Busan seven days to explain why their contract should not be terminated.

"We also started the process of partial termination of contract with Busan regarding signaling and general overhaul," Chavez said.

Nograles said that Busan should be also compelled to pay appropriate fines each time that train operation is halted due to systems failure.

"This is clearly poor maintenance and BURI is clearly at fault here. A train's gearbox is like a car's axle. We're lucky no one was harmed but I renew my calls for concern that these are rolling coffins. I am calling on the House Transport Committee to act on House Resolution No. 787 immediately," Nograles said. — MDM, GMA News