LRTA: Defective elevators, escalators fixed soon

MANILA, Philippines — The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) yesterday assured the public that it is doing its best to restore defective elevators and escalators of the LRT Line 2 (LRT-2) as soon as possible.

“LRTA assures the public that its present management will do its best to remedy the situation,” it said in a statement.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade directed the LRTA on Tuesday to repair the defective elevators and escalators, as well as blacklist the companies that supplied them.

Tugade issued the directive after a photo of a person with disability climbing the stairs of the LRT-2’s Recto station as two security personnel carried his wheelchair went viral on social media last week.

The LRTA said the elevators and escalators – 12 had broken down and only one was functional – were the subject of a P170.3-million graft complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman in December last year.

This includes the P138-million contract for the supply delivery, installation and commissioning of the conveyance system awarded to Ma-An Construction Inc. and IFE Elevators Inc. joint venture.

New LRTA administrator Jeremy Regino called for a meeting to get the defective station conveyance system operational at the soonest possible time, according to the LRTA.

Among the options seen are the emergency procurement of needed parts, as well as assigning the existing LRT-2 maintenance provider to undertake the repairs.