Anti-Duterte partisan still running MRT-3

Transport Sec. Art Tugade visited unannounced the MRT-3 depot in north Quezon City Thursday. He must have seen the sorry state of the commuter rail.

Lying idle at the Stabling Area are dozens of old trains. Only 42 of the original 73 Czech-made coaches are in running condition. And even those often break down. Reason: no spare parts. Maintenance servicer Busan Transport has not bought any, ever since starting its “long-term” contract in January.

MRT-3 general manager Roman Buenafe has a ready excuse for it. Purportedly the parts are so in demand worldwide that the Philippines is No. 23 in the waiting list. But here’s the truth: the contractor is untouchable. Korean Busan merely is fronting for four special Filipino partners. In Oct. 2015 those four firms bagged a three-year, P4.25-billion deal by closed-door talks with then-transport chief and ruling Liberal Party president Joseph Abaya, to whom Buenafe owes his appointment. The four were into anything but railways: construction, trading, agricultural supply, and plumbing. Never mind, for behind them were two LP-mates. One was with earlier maintenance contractors PH Trams and Global Epcom, which also did not provide spare parts. That’s why MRT-3 deteriorated in 2012-2015. The other is a longtime supplier at MRT-3’s mother Dept. of Transportation (see Gotcha, 30 Oct. 2015). Buenafe signed their contract, along with Undersecretaries Rene Limcaoco, Catherine Gonzales, and Edwin Lopez.

Eight new coaches from China also lie idle at the Fit Area. Ordered for P3.8 billion in 2013, they arrived defective, late, and lacking crucial components. None were test-run at the factory for safety, durability, and reliability. The bodies (passenger sections) came separate from the bogies (wheels and motors). MRT-3 workers had to put them together. The trains are unusable. They do not have the requisite Automatic Train Protector to connect to the existing signaling system. For four days last May Buenafe recklessly fielded three of the Chinese coaches in regular revenue runs. With no ATP-signaling link, they were invisible on the central monitor that shows all the other trains at any given time. There could have been a fatal crash (see Gotcha, 8 July 2016).

The China deal is another sacred cow. The LP silent partner in Busan also brokered earlier for Chinese firm Dalian Corp. Abaya signed up for 48 coaches in all. Dalian paid a five-percent kickback, ex-MRT-3 GM Al Vitangcol alleges (see Gotcha, 6 July 2016). Buenafe accepted the substandard trains, ignoring the purchase Terms of Reference (specifications, conditions, and deadlines). Such formal consent would enable Dalian to take the money and run.

The MRT-3 Warehouse is kept locked. Besides there being no spare parts anyway, some other items need to be hidden. Stacked inside are seven kilometers of rail tracks. Abaya and Buenafe had bought those for tens of millions of pesos last year – but hired no installation expert (see Gotcha, 15 Apr. 2016).

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Despite serious wrongs, Buenafe is staying as MRT-3 boss. High school classmate, new Undersecretary for Rails Noel Kintanar, reportedly said so.

It doesn’t matter either that Buenafe campaigned against President Rody Duterte and for the LP standard bearer last election. The right to suffrage protects free choice. But election laws prohibit public officials from campaigning for or against any candidate. Partisans must resign or go on unpaid leave. Violators can be fired, barred forever from public office, and jailed for six years. But then again, Buenafe’s protector at DOTC did the same.

Buenafe campaigned by public postings on Facebook. Readers emailed samples:

• Mar. 24 (Sharing a blog video of Duterte and MRT-3, captioned “Paliwanag ni Mayor kung bakit nasisira ang train”): “Bagong train expert ng bansa! Ating punyagiin!”

• Apr. 17: “Kapag ang isang babae ay maganda sa ilalim ng pagka Pangulo ni Duterte kailangan ay mag ingat-ingat dapat siya... Lalung lalo pa na nilinaw niya na hindi daw joke ang kanyang sinabi. CHANGE IS COMING, RAPE IS COMING TOO.

• Apr. 26 (Posting photo of Duterte with three red flags, one with NDF logo, another with hammer and sickle, four men in white t-shirts labeled P.O.W., and two others with M-16s): “Marami akong tropa na mahilig sa pusil... Ito oh, nakakainggit mukhang exempted sa gun ban! Nasa harapan pa mismo ang local government enforcing authority.”

• Apr. 26: “Friends, might be high time to cash out on your stock investments... Duterte power now infecting the boards!”

• Apr. 29 (Sharing video labeled Alyansang Duterte-Bongbong-AlDuB, with Duterte and partly hidden Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano in a crowd): “Hindi man lang itinama ni Duterte na ang pangalawang Pangulo niya ay si Alan na andun lang sa likuran nya... Iba talaga ang ugali....”

• May 2 (Posting three half-face Duterte photos wearing different wristwatches, with captions: IWC Mark XVI Price: $13,000; Bulgari Diagono Price: $11,500; Panerai Radiomir Price: $14,750): “Wala akong masabi sa ang gagarang mga relo na suot suot!”

• May 2 (Posting photo of Duterte enclosed in red with diagonal line, denoting “No”, plus hammer and sickle): “This is the real danger of a government built on smoke, mirrors and the sickle.”

•May 2: “If you need a lawyer to update your passbook, you’re fucking hiding something.”

• May 3 (Posting a tabloid front page headlined “Mar lamang na!” and “Duterte duwag!  Trillanes”): “Hindi po Photoshopped! Tunay na pahayagan na alam ang tunay na pulso ng masa!”

• Others: “Kopya’d from a friend’s Viber post: Ang sabi ko noo’y di ako tatakbo. Putang ina ako’ng lalaban kay Grace Poe. Pati na si Pope Francis mumurahin ko....”

• (Posting news item in PilStarNgayon Mobile re claim of Kilusan Kontra Kabulukan at Katiwalian that Duterte has offshore bank deposits in Singapore): “Meron bank account sa mainland China?!!!!!! Tinamaan ka ng... Na pre-sell na ata ang bansa!”

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