P-Noy suicide over LRT-1 failure?

 â€œAt pag hindi ho nangyari ito, nandyan ho si Secretary Abaya na nangangasiwa ng proyektong ito, dalawa na kaming magpapasagasa siguro sa tren,” P-Noy told a large group of Cavitenos during a recent campaign sortie.

Promises… promises… Of course we should never believe promises made by men in the throes of passion or by politicians trying to win votes. And we have to realize P-Noy said that in jest without realizing that this very important infrastructure project has itself become a big joke.

But the people of Cavite must be confused by now. The lead sentence in a story of the Philippine Information Agency declared that “Caviteños applauded President Benigno S. Aquino III when he said that the much awaited operation of LRT line 1 in Cavite is expected to start by 2015.” So the Cavitenos are taking the presidential promise seriously.

PIA further quoted the President saying: “At siyempre, nananabik na po tayo sa taong 2015, hindi ho dahil isang taon na lang ako manunungkulan, kung hindi mapapabilis na ang biyahe mula Baclaran hanggang Bacoor, at madadagdagan din ng 250,000 pasahero ang maisasakay kada araw dahil sa LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension.”

I was confused enough to ask DOTC Sec. Joseph Emilio Aquinaldo Abaya, a native Caviteno, what is the real score. But he didn’t reply to my text message like he normally does. Maybe he is confused too.

And he should be. When I last talked to him not too long ago before the P-Noy hara kiri threat, he said the LRT 1 extension project would likely be completed by June 2016 or just as P-Noy is bowing out of office. That was subsequently corrected in a public statement of his USec Gonzales who said 4Q 2016 is the completion date.

Pero sa totoo lang… even that 4Q 2016 date is up in the air. The public bidding had been postponed a number of times. Interested parties raised a lot of questions on details of the technical specifications released by DOTC, possible proof the DOTC lawyers drafting those bid documents do not understand the technicals. How can P-Noy go out on a limb and declare a project completion by 4Q 2015?

That’s a political promise that P-Noy cannot keep and as such, puts his sincerity and his honesty under a cloud of doubt. Or worse, makes him look gullible and easily fooled by his staff. If he thought that promise would win votes for his ticket next month, the price for that gambit is loss of presidential credibility for the rest of his term.

A friend of mine from the old days in UP, who is a transportation expert recognized in the Asean region except in his home country, reassured me there is no danger to P-Noy’s life and limb with that promise. He is sure there will be no train that could run P-Noy over in that track by end 2015.

“Obviously, he is being taken for a ride by his men at DOTC, none of whom have ever managed or implemented an infrastructure project, much less a more complex LRT! It may be possible to build a few kilometers of track by 2016, but no new train in operation,” my friend predicted.

I was actually hoping that because P-Noy was so explicit in promising the delivery date of LRT 1 extension, they will move heaven and earth to get that done. Otherwise, I was worried P-Noy will be the first president to commit suicide in the line of duty. That would give Jojo Binay a headstart for the 2016 election.

It shouldn’t be surprising that P-Noy is as ordinarily traditional as traditional politicians can get. I was hoping he is of a different sort and that even in the heat of a political campaign, he doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean or knows he cannot deliver.

But, dear readers, even a cynical old journalist who has seen it all should be forgiven for indulging in some wishful thinking. It is an important survival coping mechanism in these tough times. We are used to being disappointed, anyway.

DOTC

Still on DOTC, I got this e-mail from retired Col. Armando V. Gatmaitan.

I know you’re from UP Prep. I’m UPHS ‘49. I have kept track of your column particularly re – DOTC and the Light Rail System. Those six lawyers that Mar Roxas brought to DOTC have done nothing. I have written them letters re-particularly MRT 3 only to receive from them nonsensical thoughts.

I’m aware of legal problems besetting MRT 3. But I still believe that if there is a will there’s a way. Using all the resources of government, just like they did with former CJ Corona, MRT 3’s problems can be overcome.

I’ve long asked: There is so much publicity about LRT 1 extension, which is to solve a future problem, yet the long-standing over crowding at MRT 3 (a present problem) seems neglected. If only those six lawyers did their job, by now the problems of MRT 3 would be easing up.

With warmest regards…

MRT 3

Alas, MRT 3 will remain a big problem for this year, and the next, and the next until and beyond the term of P-Noy. The easiest way out for government is to work out a deal with Metro Pacific, but for some reason P-Noy’s boys want to de-privatize MRT 3 instead.

A recent interview by ANC’s Coco Alcuaz of a Metro Pacific official gave me the impression that government has not made a move to talk to them yet even if that is a necessary first step. Government needs the consent of the owner of the assets—which are the rails and the existing network—before any new car can be placed on service.

If the government wants to put trains in, fine. MetroPac has given them a proposal. They can either accept that proposal or reject it completely. In which case, MetroPac through the owners on record will require some compensation if DOTC wants to take total control.

The lack of action on MRT 3 is actually dangerous for commuters. That’s because needed repairs and rehabilitation of the system are being put aside. Every now and then the system breaks down and that is happening with worrisome regularity of late.

In one recent instance, the system was down for over two hours initially blamed on Meralco. I found out that it was not a problem that could be attributed to Meralco but one that is traceable to the MRT system itself… a surge arrestor malfunction.

There is usually an inspection of surge arrestors twice a year (December and July), my sources told me. The last inspection was December, so it was odd that it conked out as early as March.

“The incident involved the tripping of a 750-volt high speed breaker at both Magallanes and Taft traction power substation at 2:20 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, 2013.  It was an abnormal tripping experience that created a loud bang. Several trains in service stopped in between Magallanes and Taft Station.”

Inspection of the mainline revealed that “the problem was a broken surge arrestor located between Magallanes and Taft Station. Surge arrestor is that spine ball like material on top of the overhead catenary wire post. Its main purpose is to divert over voltage/current like lightning and voltage surge to the ground.”

After the surge arrestor ceased to function, the breaker tripped (first reaction of system). “Normally before you reset you must inspect line first – para makita kung may dumikit or nag ground – but they didn’t inspect line first so nag trip ulit. This contributed to two hour delay.”

My source related that “they temporarily removed the surge arrestor to enable resumption of service with a plan to replace it after revenue service. But Operator (DOTC) also risked damaging entire train system by exposing the entire system to an irregular voltage situation like a lightning strike or over voltage.”

My source continues: “Worst is that reaction time or intervention was very slow. In the past, matagal na ang 30 minutes. The two hours and 28 minutes interruption of service and at peak hour was not normal.

“Too many passengers were stranded and they had to walk on the track which is very dangerous.”

My nagging fear is simply, how long will DOTC people procrastinate before something really terrible happens in that MRT 3?

Politicians

Ever wonder why the campaign photos of some politicians make them seem lost in thought? That’s because it is unfamiliar territory.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco