Who Will Run The MRT?

After four years in office, the Aquino government suddenly realized the MRT3 needed new coaches. They should have realized that as soon as they assumed power because the capacity and density problems did not just start last year or this year. They failed to act on it from the start.

Now why would the Philippine government with the advise of Secretary Joseph Abaya of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC),wants to move into the transportation business? Isn't it better to have a private company run it for profit? This is the problem with the Philippine government: it wants to control everything, instead of just standing back and monitoring things, stepping in only to straighten things out. The Philippine government seems to be operating under the Soviet model that it is its own business.

I am not sure about how I feel about that? What the Filipino's want is simple. What we want is for the MRT Corp. (MRTC),  to be in public hands and the government should cure the defects with respect to its financial difficulties. If it is in public hands, the commuters and taxpayers will have a say in running the MRT, particularly its service and fees.

The  PPP strategy that encourage private funding involvement. If the government decides to take investment, planning, construction, operations and all that in-house, Im sure they can do that. But could it be that this will cost more to the taxpayer? As we know the government is not the best organisation when it comes to operational efficiency (plus the risk of corruption & fraud). Notable was the  issue at MRT where Vitangcol is said to have attempted to obtain kickbacks from the Czech supplier.

If its better for the government to handle the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) then the PPP should be canceled all together as it is a waste of time and money.  The government buys 48 additional coaches, but don't have a clue on how MRT is run? Isn't it crazy  when the government does not have a clear-cut line of authority and has no defined role in the whole scheme of things at MRT, then of course, they are going to have problems.