Aquino officials should face trial over P3.8-B trains unfit for MRT – Poe

[kagalingan]

Kung mangu-ngurakot na rin lang eh dapat yung magagamit naman...

Ano idadahilan dito..... Waley....

Aquino officials should face trial over P3.8-B trains unfit for MRT – Poe
Published April 28, 2017, 12:09 AM
by Mario Casayuran

Transport officials in the Aquino administration must pay and face trial over the purchase of 48 coaches worth P3.8 billion that turned out to be not suitable for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3 system, Sen. Grace Poe demanded yesterday.

“Dapat talaga pagbayaran nila yan. Dapat magkaroon ng kaso (They should pay for it. Charges must be filed),” Poe said as she vowed to file a resolution when the Senate resumes its regular session starting Tuesday for a full-dressed probe into the anomaly.

As chairwoman of the Senate Public Services Committee, Poe said she and even the current Department of Transportation (DoTr) officials, led by Secretary Arthur Tugade, were caught flatfooted by this anomaly.

Poe said Tugade was made to believe by past public statements of previous Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) officials, led by then Secretary Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya, that the trains purchased from Dalian, China, would finally end the transport woes of hundreds of thousands of commuters once they are installed.

But they could not be installed because the signaling system of the China made trains is not in order.

Poe and Tugade are on the same wavelength: That the Dalian trains should not be used at all as they would endanger the lives of hundreds of thousands of commuters that use the EDSA transport line every day.

Reports quoted Tugade as saying he did not know that the signaling system of the Dalian trains are not in sync with current signaling system in place at the MRT 3 system.

Thus, a big letdown not only for Poe, but also for the Duterte administration.

Poe said she would compel the appearance of past transport officials before her committee through the coercive powers of subpoenas if they refuse to appear when summoned.

“All will be invited,” Poe said, adding that her planned committee hearing would certainly cut short Abaya’s retirement from government service “because we need his explanation.”

Poe also favored the audit investigation into the questionable Dalian train contract by a third party, possibly reputable firms such as SGV or APMG, or even by the Commission on Audit (COA).

She stressed that these audit bodies “must not hide the truth.”

The problem at the MRT began when the Aquino administration severed its maintenance contract with Sumitomo, a Japanese firm, all because its fee is reportedly high.

Past administration officials then bid out the maintenance contracts to some firms whose technical problems were also questioned.

They learned too late that a low-cost maintenance contract does not automatically ensure efficient running of the trains.

“Yan ang isa pang malaking kasalanan na kung sino man ang nag-apruba niyan ay dapat managot,” she said of the Dalian train contract. (Whoever approved that Dalian train contract must face the music.)

Aquino officials should face trial over P3.8-B trains unfit for MRT – Poe >> Manila Bulletin News

[kagalingan]

Yari ka ngayon abaya ka....

Someone must be punished
DEMAND AND SUPPLY By Boo Chanco (The Philippine Star) | Updated May 1, 2017 - 12:00am

According to DOTr Undersecretary Cesar Chavez, not one of the 48 new light rail vehicles (LRVs) bought by former DOTC secretary Jun Abaya for MRT-3 can be used for at least three years. Abaya bought the LRVs from a Chinese manufacturer for P3.8 billion.

News like this should get us very angry. Strong suspicions were aired before the trains were bought that things do not seem right. Reputable manufacturers were disqualified one after another until only the Chinese company from Dalian was left standing. Remember what happened to the Czech manufacturer?

The Chinese company had no experience manufacturing the MRT cars we require. They have only been making engineless train cars pulled by a locomotive. It should have been disqualified from the start.

Thus, the Chinese LRVs were delivered bare. No motors, no signaling system and no everything else needed to safely use it for our MRT-3.

Compatibility among the Chinese LRVs, the German engines and signaling system from South Korea had been expressed from the start. The problems confirmed last week should be no surprise. Fixing the problem will really take a lot of time and I can predict, will force us to make do kasi nandyan na yan.

The Chinese LRVs arrived in Manila untested. Under the contract, the Chinese company was supposed to do the testing before delivery… 5,000 kilometers.

DOTC was not supposed to conduct the testing, but DOTr will now have to take on the job. Because the LRVs were delivered untested, the Chinese manufacturer would be saving a bundle and one wonders who shares in the estimated P2 billion savings.

Ordering the cars first may even be a case of the cart before the horse. They needed to improve the rails and upgrade the power supply system first so they can run the new LRVs at optimum speed and capacity.

Now we have 48 white elephants rusting away in the MRT depot. Indeed, in the rush to order, they didn’t even prepare a proper storage facility for the LRVs when the units first arrived.

The supplier had been nagging DOTr to pay the P3.8 billion cost of the LRVs. To Sec. Art Tugade’s credit, he issued strict orders to withhold payment until such time as the mess can be sorted out. Why should he risk his reputation for what is clearly a big transgression of the Abaya DOTC team?

Let us just hope the Dalian company won’t use their Beijing connections and get the Chinese Embassy to collect for them. Eager as the Duterte administration is to get billions in Chinese ODA, we may end up paying good money for nothing we can use.

For now, it is right and proper for Sec. Tugade to call for an independent evaluation of the deal, as he did. They are hiring a foreign audit team to review Abaya’s contract with the Chinese company.

The Ombudsman should also investigate. There is more than a whiff of corruption in the transaction. And even if we set that aside for the moment, there is clearly bad judgment in buying thee LRVs the way they did from the Chinese company.

It should be easy for the Ombudsman to get the records from DOTr before something happens like a fire or an attack by an army of hungry termites. A billion pesos of the people’s money have already been paid and there has to be some accountability for that.

I have my highest regard for the Ombudsman, but I have also wondered why she exempted Abaya from the case filed against the manager of MRT-3 over the anomalous maintenance contract. The value of the contract was beyond the approval authority of the manager. Someone higher must have signed the contract or authorized its approval.

It is also curious why Abaya’s DOTC insisted in awarding the LRV contract to the Chinese firm even in the face of the arbitration case filed by MRTC in Singapore precisely questioning the decision. Even if DOTC managed to get the approval of the Court of Appeals, government can still lose that arbitration case and be liable for damages.

Sen. Grace Poe’s reaction to the news about the useless LRVs is right. “We should see where we went wrong so we do not repeat those mistakes, and teach a lesson to those involved who did not think of the welfare of Filipinos. There should be a case against them.”

This time around, a high level official must be held accountable for the messy deal. Even if no corruption is involved, which seems unlikely given the Czech ambassador’s revelations, the approving authorities must be held accountable for wasting P3.8 billion of the people’s money. All that money… now tied up in useless rail cars.

Someone big must be punished. Perpetual disqualification from public office will be too kind a punishment.

Why the MRT mess

Lito Madrasto, who represented the Philippine Constructors Association as an observer in DOTC’s bidding process, had this insider’s view of what went wrong. He posted his observation in response to a post I made on Facebook.

The first error was refusal to listen to technical people. The second error was taking out the Japanese maintenance provider. And the third error was awarding the maintenance contract to an inexperienced firm. 1-2-3...KO!

They were aptly warned by various personalities in the know for so many years but they insisted on their way. Hence, it is no longer negligence. It can be construed as premeditated.

The same holds true for (1) the LTO registration stickers and driver’s license; (2) the LTO plates; (3) the LRT1 South Extension delays; (4) the MRT/LRT1 Common Station; (5) the MRT Maintenance Contracts; (6) the North Rail fiasco; (7) the NAIA operations mess; (8) the lack of night flight facilities of provincial airports; (9) the port of Manila congestion mess; etc.

While the past leaders of DOTC must be held accountable, so too should the present leaders be for allowing things to get worse. And up to now, no one knows if indeed there will be workable solutions.

The issue is the present state of MRT-3 and the response of DOTr is a proposal of a subway line that will be completed, at the earliest in 2024. So what will happen to MRT-3 in the meantime? Let it rot?

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco*gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter *boochanco.

Someone must be punished | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com

[ClaNker]

Sus ginoo ang linaw ng requirement ng bagong coaches.

Expand the power, fix the rails, and install a new signaling system.

48 new MRT-3 coaches cannot be used until next year - DOTr exec - CNN Philippines

Ano ang akala ni tugade at poe, bibili ng brand new coaches na plug and play sa dilapidated MRT infa ng pinas. 😅





Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[ClaNker]

"Na-witness niyo naman na we conducted the test, nag-activate and it's compatible with our signaling. Kailangan lang i-perfect sa tren yung internals ng tren, kailangan pa pag-usapan yun," said Manalo.

But to run all newly purchased 16 train sets, Manalo said the railway's power system should be upgraded, which will be completed by the end of the year.

Manalo added it is a challenge to run the project since most of the contractual engineers under the new MRT project are no longer with the MRT after their contracts expired. Many applied in other rail projects.

Baka naman mga karpintero ang ipinalit ng MRT sa mga engineers kaya puro palpak sila ngayon. 😅😅😅



Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[kagalingan]

^
Ipost mo yung link na quinote mo and date...

Kasi sabi ni tugade hindi daw match signaling system..... Sabi naman ng quinote mo match....

So magkaalamanan sino nagsasabi totoo....

Pero kawawa ngayon si abaya.... hahahahahah

[ninjababez]

Sus ginoo ang linaw ng requirement ng bagong coaches.

Expand the power, fix the rails, and install a new signaling system.

48 new MRT-3 coaches cannot be used until next year - DOTr exec - CNN Philippines

Ano ang akala ni tugade at poe, bibili ng brand new coaches na plug and play sa dilapidated MRT infa ng pinas. 😅





Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

bakit di nalang nila i-priority nga naman yun upgrade ano?
i guess plano ng aquino admin, magtuloy tuloy yun progress/change sa MRT; kung nanalo sila.

[yebo]

no matter what, pa-stariray na naman si poe. and this time sucking up to the present admin. 2 years na lang due for reelection siya ano. at wala naman ibibigay na pera yung nagiisang kakampi niyang si escudero so sipsip utin siya ngayon sa present admin para isama siya sa ticket. gaya-gaya kay loren "political prostitute" legarda na higop utin sa kanino man nakaupo?

[ClaNker]

^
Ipost mo yung link na quinote mo and date...

Kasi sabi ni tugade hindi daw match signaling system..... Sabi naman ng quinote mo match....

So magkaalamanan sino nagsasabi totoo....

Pero kawawa ngayon si abaya.... hahahahahah

Kailangan muna ng itaas ang power ng MRT System which according to MRT will be completed this November this year, April pa lang ngayon. The rest follow suit. In the meantime limited ka muna sa 16 new coaches.

Di na kasalanan ng DOST engineers na nag test nyan kung sadyang bobo lang talaga si Tugade at nag papa bango si POE.



Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[ClaNker]

bakit di nalang nila i-priority nga naman yun upgrade ano?
i guess plano ng aquino admin, magtuloy tuloy yun progress/change sa MRT; kung nanalo sila.

Bobo ang nanalo at pasikat si tugade kaya ayan palpak.

Yang mga bagong coaches ay dumaan sa extensive testing ng mga DOST Engineers. Abay akala siguro ni Tugade at POE plug and play ang brand new modern coaches sa old delapidated MRT System natin.



Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[shadow]

Puro yabang Kasi si tugade. Common sense lang daw problema eh mas malala ngayon nun siya na ang nakaupo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk