LRT-2 operations to start at 5 a.m.

MANILA, Philippines — Operations of the Light Rail Transit (LRT)-2 will start earlier than usual and will take commuters at 5 a.m. tomorrow, an official said.

Hernando Cabrera, LRT Authority (LRTA) corporate secretary, said in a statement that LRT-2 trains would roll out at 5 in the morning, an hour earlier than the previous 6 a.m. scheduled start of operations.

A fire destroyed a power rectifier at the Santolan station last week.

The fire closed down two stations – Santolan and Katipunan – and officials said they need at least nine months to repair the damage and resume normal operations.

The Anonas station was also closed down, but is expected to be opened sooner.
Normal operations continue in all stations from Recto in Manila to Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City.

The cause of the fire is still being looked into by authorities, but foul play and terrorism were earlier ruled out.

LRTA officials had assured President Duterte that it is doing all it can to help alleviate the plight of thousands of commuters affected by the disrupted services of the LRT-2.

During last Friday’s Cabinet meeting in Malacañang, LRTA administrator Reynaldo Berroya reported to the President that the concerned agencies have started to mobilize bus firms to ply the routes from Santolan to Cubao.

“While repair and replacement of the component are ongoing, LRTA and DOTr (Department of Transportation) will continue their bus augmentation from Santolan to Cubao,” said presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo.

Panelo last Friday accepted the commute challenge by critics and leftists groups to disprove claims of a mass transport crisis in Metro Manila. Panelo rode several passenger jeepneys and a motorcycle from Marikina to Malacañang in Manila that took him three and half hours.

Panelo added that the Metro Manila Development Authority, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Inter-Agency Council for Traffic and the Highway Patrol Group are coordinating efforts to address the public’s needs during the bus augmentation program.

During the House committee on transportation emergency hearing last week, Samar 1st District representative and committee chairman Edgar Sarmiento said about 4,000 buses are needed to service the 200,000 daily ridership of the LRT. This was equivalent to 400 buses plying the affected route per hour.

Also during the Cabinet meeting, Panelo said Interior and Local Government Sec. Eduardo Año updated the President and the Cabinet on the operations related to clearing of public roads all over the metropolis and the rest of the provinces.

“Secretary Año reported to the Cabinet that his department was successful in fulfilling the directive of the President in his last State of the Nation Address to clear all public roads,” he said.

Based on the records of the Department of the Interior and Local Governemnt (DILG), some 75 provinces have submitted reports regarding their compliance with the President’s orders.

All 17 cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) are “commendably compliant,” the Palace official said, adding officials from Regions I to X have also complied. “There had been 6,899 local roads cleared nationwide,” Panelo said, quoting the DILG secretary’s report.