President Benigno S. Aquino III meets with his Cabinet Secretaries at the President’s Hall of Malacanang Monday (October 13) concerning the status of the MRT 3 maintenance. The President is concerned about negative reports he has been receiving regarding Metro Rail operations. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Vice President Jejomar Binay and his camp are doing a virtual tag-team on the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.
After Binay criticized the sorry state of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) as proof of the administration’s “inefficiency and insensitivity,” his spokesperson accused the Aquino government of planning to use deals to maintain the mass transit system in funding the campaign of the President’s party in 2016.
“The Liberal Party has tried almost every means to raise funds for the upcoming elections and sourcing funds from an MRT deal would not be an exception,” said lawyer Rico Quicho, Binay’s spokesperson for political affairs on Monday.
Quicho cited the awarding of the maintenance contracts to a newly set up firm identified with the ruling party.
The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) recently awarded contracts to four maintenance providers to cover rail tracks and permanent ways, buildings and facilities, communications systems and the automated fare collection system. The contracts will take effect July 5 this year until a longer-term maintenance provider is assigned.
Quicho slammed Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya “ineffective leadership” for allegedly failing to solve the worsening problems in the overburdened train system.
“The safety and convenience of the riding public is always at stake while nothing has been done to remedy the problem,” he said.
Binay’s spokesperson also took a swipe at Interior Secretary Mar Roxas for doing “cheap stunts” to get media mileage. He said Abaya even copied Roxas’ maneuver of taking the MRT supposedly to assess its condition.
“Cheap stunts like riding the MRT will certainly not solve the problem but only remind the people of Secretary Abaya’s predecessor … who will do anything from directing traffic to riding a motorcycle” to build media mileage,” Quicho said, referring to Roxas.
Binay’s lawyer said Abaya should answer to the public why MRT’s problems had worsened since he and Roxas took over the train system.
Before Abaya, Roxas served as DOTC secretary from July 2011 to October 2012.
On Saturday, June 27, Binay blasted the Aquino government of providing “train coffins” to the MRT riding public.
“Una ko nang sinabi na palpak at manhid ang pamahalaan. Ang pinakamalaking ebidensiya: Ang ating mga tren,” (I already said that the government is a failure and is insensitive. The biggest evidence: our trains) Binay said in a gathering of the Rotaty International.
The vice president noted that the Philippines was first in Southest Asia to operate a light railway transit, something that Filipinos should be proud of but is instead a “symbol” of the government’s failures.(MNS)