By Raymond Carl Dela Cruz
MANILA – Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon on Tuesday sacked Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) General Manager Oscar Bongon and warned other Department of Transportation (DOTr) officials to avoid delaying the resolution of problems or other issues under their purview.
In a radio interview over Radyo Pilipinas, Dizon said Bongon’s removal from office was not related to his personal inspection of the MRT-3 on Monday, but rather to delays in addressing issues, specifically a faulty escalator on the MRT-3 that took several days to fix.
“Kung kaya naman pala gawin on the same day, noong 10 a.m. ng Sabado noong nasira ito, eh bakit pinagpaliban hangang Martes (If it could be fixed on the same day, it stopped working 10 a.m. on Saturday, why did they wait until Tuesday to get it fixed),” he said.
He said simple issues should not be belittled and should be addressed as soon as possible because every delay causes inconvenience for passengers.
“Ang sabi nga ng Pangulo natin paulit ulit, kailangan ang serbisyo natin sa ating mga kababayan ay hindi natutulog (Like what President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. always say, our service to the public never sleeps),” he said.
He said the incident should serve as a warning to other DOTr officials to immediately address issues affecting the public.
“Kailangan magbago ang pananaw sa ating trabaho. Kailangan po mabilis tayo umaksyon kasi yung konting delay, yung konting aberya, napakalaki po ng hirap na idudulot nito sa ating mga kababayan (We should change how we look at our jobs. We need to move fast because the smallest delay or issue can cause big problems to the public),” he said.
He said Bongon’s replacement will be announced later by Malacañang.
“Hintayin na lang natin ang paglabas ng papeles from the Office of the President (OP). Para naman opisyal na ito. Syempre kahit meron akong ire-rekomenda, nasa ating Pangulo pa rin kung yun yung ia-appoint niya (Let’s wait for the papers from the OP. So, it will be official. Even if I made a recommendation, it is still our President who would be the appointing authority),” he said.
Extended MRT-3 operating hours
Meanwhile, he said the planned extension of the MRT-3’s evening operations by at least one hour and the addition of more trains during peak hours may begin early next week.
“Siguro early next week mapapa-extend na natin ng isang oras sa gabi ang operating hours at makakapag-dagdag tayo ng kahit isang bagon muna (Maybe early next week we’ll extend the operating hours by one hour and we’ll add maybe just one train for now),” he said.
The extension of the MRT-3’s evening operations, he said, was in response to his inspection at the rail line on Monday where he gathered suggestions from passengers. (PNA)
