AN official from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said that the EDSA-based mass transit system was still safe to operate despite glaring glitches and questions over safety.
Transportation Assistant Secretary Elvira Medina told dzMM radio on Sunday that the DOTr was studying the problems with the MRT and would submit a recommendation to Transport Undersecretary Cesar Chavez within one to two weeks.
“Gumagawa na kami ng pag-aaral sa mga naging problema sa MRT. Ibibigay naming ang aming mga suhestyon kay Usec. Cesar Chavez na halos wala nang tulog sa kakaisip sa solusyon sa problema sa MRT (We are doing a study on the problems of the MRT. We are going to give our suggestions to Undersecretary Cesar Chavez who has been losing sleep thinking of solutions to the MRT problem),” Medina said.
Medina, however, assured that MRT operations would continue while the DOTr was completing its study.
“Habang pinagaaralan namin tuloy naman ang operasyon ng MRT iniisip naming ang kapakananan ng mga pasahero (While we are studying the situation, MRT operations will continue because we are thinking of the welfare of the commuters),” she added.
She also said the DOTr would be stricter in implementing policies on yellow lanes starting on Monday, with traffic expected to worsen with the approaching holiday season.
Sen. Grace Poe has questioned whether the MRT was still safe for passengers and if it needed to be shut down for repairs after a string of accidents.
Poe raised this question on Thursday, the same day about 140 MRT passengers were evacuated after two trains were detached from each other.
On Tuesday, a woman lost her arm when she fell onto the tracks at the MRT-Ayala Station after she felt dizzy.
The MRT ferries about half a million passengers in Metro Manila each day.