DOCTORS successfully reattached the severed arm of Angeline Fernando, who fell onto the rail tracks of the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT3) in Makati City on Tuesday, an official of the Department of Transportation said Wednesday.
“Angeline’s arm is reconnected to her body; the bone, the nerve and vessels are reconnected. She is under observation at least until Friday this week,” Transportation Undersecretary Cesar Chavez said in a text message to reporters, quoting the physician attending to the woman.
Fernando, 24, had just alighted from an MRT train at the Ayala Station when she fell. Her right arm was caught in the train’s coupler that links the coaches. She was rushed to the Makati Medical Center.
Fernando was a scholar of the SM Foundation and she finished Bachelor of Science in Information Technology at the Asia Pacific College.
Her mother Gloria said Angeline is prone to dizziness.
“Nahihilo si Angeline minsan pag maraming tao, lumalabas siya minsan sa simbahan pag nagsisimba kami kasi nahihirapan siya huminga pag maraming tao (Angeline usually feels dizzy in a crowd. When hearing Mass, she would sometimes go out of the church because she has trouble breathing)” Chavez said, quoting Fernando’s mother Gloria.
‘Time bombs’
Sen. Grace Poe said the accident could have been prevented had the MRT management installed railings.
“What happened was a very unfortunate incident,” she said.
She called on Transportation officials to focus on the overall safety of the rail system.
Poe, who heads the Senate Committee on Public Services, said the many technical and structural flaws that hound MRT3 put commuters in danger.
“In reality, the riding public faces so many of the MRT’s structural and technical time bombs that put in serious doubt the DOTr’s assurance that it is still safe to ride these trains,” the senator pointed out.
She cited as example the signaling system that was found not compatible with the Dalian trains purchased during the administration of former President Benigno Aquino 3rd.
Poe noted that the signaling system is a basic safety component that should have been given importance by the government.
The senator said broken rails have yet to be fully replaced.
“While many of the woes began with the past administration, the current problems are now in the hands of the DOTr. If they are earnest and sincere in addressing these problems, then they should work faster on bettering our train system,” Poe said.