The Unsuccessful MRT-Buyout Plan

            Department of Transportation andCommunications (DOTC) Sec. Emilio Abaya is in the midst of embarrassment because the Senate rejected the MRT buyout. In previous months, he was very confident that the equity value buyout (EVBO) would turn into realty because President Benigno S. Aquino III had issued Exclusive Order 126 for the MRT takeover. The government will get the funds which cost 54 billion from our national budget in 2015.

            Sen. Chiz Escudero refused to follow the order of P-Noy because their plan is not very practical. He recommended that instead to use the money of the taxpayers, why they don’t get the funds from the two state banks which are also serves as board members in the Metro Trail Transit Corporation (MRTC). They controls 80 percent of the corporation, but still they didn’t owned it. Sen. Escudero understood the real problem in MRT; 54 billion is not enough to pay the investors. The said amount are just bonds from the state banks. It means that 54 billion pesos will just go to the state banks. Even a single centavo will not go the investors! The real cost of the MRT is about 100 billion pesos.

            The public should give a round of applause to the decision of the Senate. For me, that is the right thing they should do. MRT buyout is not the solution to the problem; it may cause a lot of troubles that could affect to the commuters. We knew that the government has no capacity to  handle it. They had done a lot of mistakes with their operation especially when they chose their own maintenance provider although it is not allowed in their BLT agreement. Only the MRTC has the right to do choose a maintenance provider for the MRT.

            Former MRTC head Robert Sobrepeña said that Somitomo, their former maintenance provider is willing to work again in MRT. Their only condition is, the government should let them to rehabilitate the train line. Intervention of other maintenance provider is not needed. The good thing is, the company will take again the single point of responsibility. It means, if there would be a mechanical problem in MRT, it is their sole responsibility to fix it. Sec. Abaya doesn’t need to play a blame game again. He will not point out the investors or the driver of the MRT like what he did when an accident happened last August this year.

            Let us hope that the DOTC would accept the proposal of Somitomo Corp. or else the problem in MRT will never end. Sec. Abaya should remember that they are the one who built the MRT-3. So, they knew how to detect and fix the problem, unlike to the local maintenance provider of the government which is lack of experience. For the mean time, let us wait the answer of Sec. Abaya on how he cope to the rejection of the Senate regarding to their unsucessful MRT buyout plan.