MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Grace Poe on Tuesday inspected the newly arrived prototype trains of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT).
The senator said that she visited the MRT depot to ask the engineer of the Department of Transportation and Communications regarding the delivery dates of the new trains.
The new MRT prototype was delivered from Dalian, China.
"First impression siyempre, nakita ko naman mayroon na hawakan doon. Nakita ko naman na ang silya ay mukha namang standard," Poe told members of the press during an ambush interview.
EARLIER: Sen. Grace Poe paid a visit to the MRT3 Depot to check on the new MRT train prototype.
Posted by Grace Poe on Monday, September 7, 2015
Poe noted that 167 million passengers ride the train system every day while its capacity is only for 650,000 passengers.
"Pero ang importante nga ay ang kaligtasan ng ating mga kababayan at ang kanilang mga kaginhawaan. Sabi nga, araw-araw ay nalulunod sila sa kanilang pagsakay dahil sa sobrang gulo," Poe said, citing the Consumers' Protection Act.
She expressed her doubts on the long-term maintenance of the new trains.
"Tatanungin natin, ano ba ang warranty nito? Kung ito ba ay talagang mapaninindigan ng manufacturer kung saka-sakaling may sira? Sapagkat, doon tayo nagkakaroon ng problema sa pangmatagalang maintenance," the senator said.
The senator clarified that the machines are not yet included in the train prototype. The government is yet to order machines from Germany on December. the machines will be delivered by March 2016.
Poe heads the Senate committee on public services which handles the hearings on the MRT.
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