NCFC blames Abaya for systemic breakdown of comm and transportation

Lack of foresight by DOTC caused Holy Week systemic breakdown

Glitches in the operation of the MRT and the LRT as well as sudden breakdowns in the operation of airports and seaports during the Lenten season could have been avoided had Malacanang appointed a technocrat instead of a politician at the helm of the Department of Transportation and Communication.

This is in reaction to what Malacanan today announced thru Communications secretary Sonny Coloma asking the public for patience and assuring the riders of the MRT-LRT that assistance is forthcoming.

Atty. Oliver San Antonio, spokesperson of the National Coalition of Filipino Consumers (NCFC), an umbrella organisation of five urban poor groups says how can government normalize the already “abnormal” situation in the MRT and LRT stations when the DOTC did not prepare any contingency plan for the expected surge of the number of riders for the two railway systems.

Instead of letting the situation gets worse, the DOTC should have planned for utilising other modes of transport to ease the pain of more than 1,600,000 commuters using the MRT-LRT systems.

San Antonio blames Secretary Emilio Joseph Abaya for the veritable systems breakdown that the entire transportation and communications infrastructure suffered during the Lenten season and which extended today, Monday.

San Antonio says Abaya, a former Cavite politician, does not deserve to head the DOTC, the agency tasked in ensuring that the integrity of the transportation and communications infrastructure of the country remains robust and functioning. Sources say that Abaya and his officials over at the agency failed to create contingency plans and did not coordinate with the MRT3 technical team.

Instead of preparing for the expected spike in the influx and outflux of people, goods and services, Abaya was seen with DILG secretary Mar Roxas distributing goods to thousands of Yolanda survivors in Leyte.

Abaya was even quoted as referring to Roxas as his “president” an obvious disrespect to President Pnoy who appointed him and remains in power. Aquino’s term ends in 2016.

“ The President should let go of Abaya and replace him with a person who is more than capable of handling the myriad and technical issues besetting the country’s entire transportation and communications infrastructure. What happened during Lent affected millions of Filipino commuters and consumers who suffered long hours of waiting for their buses, their trains, their planes and their ships all because of a systematic breakdown of the country’s infrastructure which began last Tuesday and ended Sunday.

Today’s breakdown (Monday), all the more emphasized the urgency of letting Abaya go and replace him with a guy who can handle the Samsonian task of harmonizing the operations of the entire infrastructure. Someone who will concentrate on fixing the problems and not someone whose mind is obviously directed at ensuring the victory of his political benefactor,” adds San Antonio.

Thousands are still stranded in various parts of the country due to the failure of communications and signalling equipment of various ports and airports around the country. Several thousands missed their flights over at several international and local airports either due to brownouts or technical glitches of navigational equipment.

Hundreds of thousands more got stranded in different bus terminals which began last Thursday, the start of a noticeable increase in the volume of people leaving the metropolis.

IN the past, notes San Antonio, the DOTC averted possible technical glitches because officials prepared for months prior to the advent of Lent. Now, the DOTC did not even notify the public or went tight-lipped when asked about their preparations during the Holy week.

“ Let’s face it---Abaya is a political animal more than a technocrat kind of guy. He loves politics so much he had the gall of referring to Mar Roxas as his president. Let him go, Mr. President. Abaya needs to be given what he truly wants, to be Mar Roxas’s `trouble shooter’.”

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For inquiries:

Atty. Oliver San Antonio
Spokeperson
09178388196