Press Release
October 1, 2014

CHIZ: TALK CHEAPER THAN P54-B TO SOLVE MRT 3 WOES

Senator Chiz Escudero said solving the problems surrounding the ownership and control of the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT 3) Project need not be as expensive as P54 billion, the total amount needed for the government to buy out Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC) and take over its operations.

Escudero, chairman of the Senate finance panel, made this comment after it was revealed at the hearing of the Committee on Public Services that the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the MRTC, led by the Sobrepena group, had not made any attempt to sit down and discuss a string of operational and maintenance issues which affect the service of MRT 3.

The DOTC is planning to buy out the MRTC from operating MRT 3 for P53.9 billion in a bid to improve its service to the riding public - estimated at 600,000 commuters daily - from Quezon City to Pasay City.

However, Roberto Sobrepena, chairman of the Fil-Estate which is the major equity holder in the MRTC, said the DOTC had not made a formal offer to buy them out and that the P54 billion was just an approximation and was not even enough to buy MRTC shares.

"Are you even talking?" Escudero asked the DOTC and the MRTC, to which Sobrepena answered, "No, your honor. They have not talked to us. We have not talked to them."

At the hearing, Escudero made a manifestation to the committee to have the DOTC and the MRTC sit down together so they can thresh out the issues surrounding the poor operations and maintenance of MRT 3. "Ang rason kung bakit ang sama-sama ng serbisyo ng MRT 3 ay dahil sa sitwasyon sa pagitan ng mga nagmamay-ari nito. They can't get their acts together. Each has their own responsibilities."

He even offered to conduct Senate hearings every week if that would bring the two parties together to get to the bottom of the MRT 3 problems and bring about better public transport service.

Escudero said the proposed allocation for MRT 3 buyout under the 2015 budget may not see the light of the day. "I am not convinced that we need to shell out almost P54 billion of public funds just to take over MRT 3. Laway lang ang puhunan pala dito. Mag-usap lang ng maayos ang DOTC at MRTC, analyze and agree on terms and conditions to improve the state of affairs of our mass transport system."

Escudero has been at the forefront of calling for the final resolution of the MRT 3 ownership since 2010 in order to determine the status of its operational control and allow development plans to move forward.

"We don't need to bleed out this much money; we could very well use this amount for other programs that need immediate and much needed allocations. In fact, the DOTC admitted during their budget hearing that they can very well bid the operation and maintenance of MRT 3 now without a takeover worth billions of pesos," Escudero said.

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