EDITORIAL - A disaster waiting to happen

Al Vitangcol was freed on bail yesterday. The Sandiganbayan had ordered his arrest on charges that he tried to extort $30 million from Czech train supplier Inekon Group in July 2012 when he was the general manager of the Metro Rail Transit 3.

Also ordered arrested was Wilson de Vera, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Calasiao, Pangasinan under the Liberal Party in 2013 and was an incorporator of PH Trams together with Vitangcol’s uncle-in-law Arturo Soriano. Within two months of its incorporation, PH Trams was awarded a lucrative railway maintenance deal by the MRT under Vitangcol, with the contract signed by then transport secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya.

The alleged shakedown was disclosed by then Czech Ambassador Josef Rychtar, who was helping Inekon secure a government-to-government MRT train supply deal. Inekon, which refused to pay up even when the amount demanded was allegedly reduced to $2.5 million, failed to bag the deal. Rychtar ended his posting in the Philippines with the issue unresolved and the previous administration scoffing at his accusations.

With the personalities involved no longer in power, the case now seems to be moving faster. Vitangcol has pointed to Abaya as the approving power for the MRT. Beyond determining criminal culpability, the Duterte administration must assess the state of the railway service. PH Trams, according to reports, lacked the expertise and resources for the proper maintenance of the MRT trains and tracks. Trains ordered from Chinese firm Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. lack engines.

The result is the frequent breakdown of the railway service. The inadequacy of trains has also led to long lines of passengers at MRT stations. Light railway services are popular and can ease traffic jams in Metro Manila. But the services have progressively deteriorated, to the detriment of the riding public.

President Duterte has a new team in charge of mass transportation, and it should assess the state of the light railway services. The MRT is a disaster waiting to happen and the problem calls for urgent attention.