Abaya’s arrogance

Commuters are angry and disgusted at Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya’s arrogant statement that riding the metro rail transit is a “personal decision,” and that he will not go out of his way to convince people to ride since this is a free country anyway. Abaya – who has now earned the moniker “Jun pAbaya” – issued the statement after an MRT train crashed through a barrier at the Taft Avenue station, causing heavy traffic and leaving more than 30 people injured.

Abaya’s statement is snooty and totally indifferent to the plight of the riding public because it sounded like Abaya was telling victims that it was their fault. Not surprisingly, a major labor group condemned Abaya’s statement saying thousands of minimum wage commuters take the MRT trains to and from work simply because they have no choice.

Last Sunday, northbound passengers told us their hearts skipped a beat when their train suddenly lurched to a halt while approaching the Buendia station, recalling the Taft Avenue accident with horror where another train was sent to push the stalled train forward – causing it to overshoot the tracks and plunge headlong towards the barriers.

 Philtrak president Francis Yuseco wrote Spy Bits saying the incidents involving the MRT trains were “truly sad and tragic, but as we forewarned and predicted 25 years ago, derailing of the EDSA MRT on account of the inherent structural financial and operational imbalances in favor of the importing entities would happen sooner or later. If we had built an at-grade Philtrak Rapid Transit (PRT) along EDSA in 1989, all these financial, operational and maintenance tragedies could have been avoided. As we have been repeatedly imploring ever since, it is never too late to change all these elevated MRTs/LRTs to a series of elevated and at-grade PRT at a fraction of the cost and without any subsidies from our taxpayers.”

Francis has long been suggesting a rapid bus transit scheme to solve the perennial problem of traffic congestion along EDSA, but unfortunately, his proposal has fallen on deaf ears.

Everyone knows the MRT trains are not in very good condition, and that the maintenance has been poor, with allegations that daily upkeep has been kept at a minimum (like cleaning up the coaches) to keep down costs. In fact, there were already previous warnings that the rail system was showing signs of metal fatigue, with experts calling for upgrades in the computer system to avoid glitches that could prove to be risky and dangerous.

Abaya should heed the call of labor groups and Netizens calling for his resignation because of his tendency to make too many comments that are absolutely insensitive to the commuters who already have to endure the daily grind. Just like the MRT trains, the DOTC Secretary is an accident waiting to happen.

Chaos at the docks

Many who watched the Senate hearing regarding the problem of port congestion at the docks are growing impatient at hearing the same old refrain about the need to study the situation etc. before actual actions and solutions can be implemented to unclog the ports.

Meanwhile, numerous international shipping lines and traders continue to complain about tremendous financial costs – “bleeding” as one of them put it – owing to the inability of the government to expeditiously and pro-actively address the alarming port congestion at the international ports in South Harbor and the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT). Clearly, the problem is escalating and could reach national emergency proportions according to stakeholders.

Big and small businessmen, importers, agents, forwarding companies, trucking companies and port users are seriously displeased about the long queues at the said ports, adversely affecting the logistics chain and the cost of doing business in this country. In recent months, government agencies and advocacy groups have recommended shifting of cargoes to Batangas and Subic. In fact, Malacañang just signed an executive order allowing hefty discounts to berthing fees at the Batangas port as an incentive for shipping lines.

Batangas and Subic may help provide a solution to the congestion – provided that the imbalance of trade between import and export, inland road network, efficient trucking services and overall logistics cost, among others, are sufficiently addressed, an insider explained.

But while a lot of attention has been given to diverting cargoes to these provincial ports, the option of at least diverting a portion to Manila North Harbor – a government-owned port facility at nearby Tondo – should be kept in order to quickly decongest the two international ports. The Manila North Harbor port has more than adequate berthing, container yard and truck parking areas, yet ironically it still enjoys surplus areas and capacities that are allowed for the use of domestic shipping lines only.

The nearby government-owned port facility is available to address the escalating problem and avert a looming economic disaster. International shipping lines have caught up with this rational approach and are asking permission to berth at Manila North Harbor and to reposition empty containers urgently required by their source ports. But as usual, these requests seem to be falling on deaf ears. In any case, let’s hope that the government acts swiftly before mini groceries and friendly neighborhood sari-sari stores run out of goods to sell.

A divided LP will assure its fall

Insider sources informed us about the growing schism within the Liberal Party because of the “second term” being pushed by Mar Roxas and his boys. Everyone knows Speaker Sonny Belmonte has been pushing for charter change but only as far as the economic provisions are concerned.

The move of Roxas allies to lift term limits for the president and legislators has resulted in the withdrawal of support by some legislators for the proposed Belmonte bill – much to the displeasure of the Speaker. What was that saying again about “united we stand, divided we fall”?

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