THE chronic mess that passengers experience at the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 is proof that the contract to build and lease the train line was flawed, a transportation expert said.
Jose Regin F. Regidor, a research fellow at the University of the Philippines Diliman National Center for Transportation Studies, said the accidents that hound the rail system can be traced back to the deal signed between the government and the private proponent in the 1990s.
“The main or root problem seems to be legal and not at all technical. The technical problems experienced are manifestations of a contract that is a textbook case for how not to do a PPP,” he said, referring to the Public-Private Partnership Program.
The government and MRT Corp. (MRTC) signed the build-lease-transfer agreement in 1997, requiring the private company to construct a railway line on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue to ferry passengers from the northern and southern corridors of Metro Manila.
Under the agreement, MRTC is required to lease the facility to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), which will then operate the train line. In return, the government will pay rental fees to the company.
MRTC, which owns the assets of the train system, is controlled by MRT Holdings Inc. (MRTH) of businessman John Robert L. Sobrepeña.
The Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines jointly own an 80-percent economic interest in MRTC.
Recent events show that the two parties—the government and the private partner—are at odds with how they want to proceed with developing the most congested train line in Metro Manila.
For starters, the government procured 48 new train cars for the system. But MRTH moved to block this by filing cases against the purchase. The case is still pending before the Court of Appeals.
The state also wants to buy the private partner out, but MRTH is not too keen on that proposal. What it wants, according to Sobrepeña, is to improve the railway line that has been pestering commuters with bad service for quite some time now.
The difference between the two camps took a toll on the train system, which saw itself bogging down several times a day. The worst incident involving technical problems was when an MRT coach rammed against its depot in Pasay City, hurting passengers in the process.
“We can’t really blame a specific person or persons, but, perhaps, entire organizations that are supposed to be responsible for the mess that is the MRT 3,” Regidor said.
He emphasized the need for the two parties to take away any hidden agenda with the train line, and focus on developing it as a public service.
“In the end, the DOTC must decide whether it is all worth it to maintain the stalemate with MRTC, considering that the public interest is at stake here, and things will just become worse with inaction,” Regidor added.
The 15-year-old mass-transit system, which ferries more than half-a-million passengers daily, has been in a state of decay. Passengers frequently complain of long queues caused by the lack of trains and coaches. The public was also outraged by the MRT’s inefficient ticketing system, humid train cars, and faulty elevators and escalators.
“Perhaps, the government should move toward the best compromise they can live with, considering the urgency of addressing the problem at hand,” Regidor said.
Today the rail line’s average daily ridership is already over 560,000, and its highest single-day passenger count is now at 620,000.
It was designed to carry only 350,000 passengers a day.