LRT: No inspection, no entry

The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) reiterated yesterday that it will be strictly enforcing its "no inspection, no entry" policy on all packages of passengers of the LRT Line 1, Line 2 and the Metro Rail Transit particularly on wrapped Christmas gifts.

In a statement released yesterday, the LRTA said that they saw the need for the reiteration of the policy in the face of the increasing number of complaints from passengers of the two rail lines about the inspection of their wrapped Christmas presents.

"We are issuing the statement to let the public know that it will be for their own good if they subject their wrapped Christmas gifts to inspection from our security guards," LRTA administrator Atty. Teodoro Cruz Jr., was quoted as saying in the LRTA statement.

"We are just implementing a policy that we believe would secure our passengers because there may be elements out there to sow terrorism at this time of the year," said engineer Ed San Juan, operations and maintenance manager of LRT Line 2 which is now running from Santolan, Pasig to Cubao, Quezon City.

For his part, engineer Rodrigo Bulario, operations and engineering officer-in-charge of LRT 1 which runs form Monumento in Caloocan to Baclaran in Parañaque, stressed that they in the LRTA does not want a repeat of the December 30, 2000 bombing incident involving a train and passengers of the LRT Line 1 wherein scores were killed and injured.

The LRTA said that they have made available cutters and tapes at the inspection areas of the different Line 1 and Line 2 and MRT stations for the use of the passengers whose wrapped Christmas presents were opened for inspection so they can repair the "damage" caused by the inspection.

The LRTA urged commuters who will use the three Metro Manila rail lines in the next few days to just wrap their Christmas gifts at home to avoid the inconvenience of the inspections. – Rainier Allan Ronda