Tugade blames unruly passengers for MRT offloading incidents

MRT crowd INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

While boasting of government’s efforts to address the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) problems, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade has blamed unruly passengers for causing interruption in MRT train operations.

In an interview posted by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) in its Facebook page Tuesday night, Tugade said commuters who deliberately force doors to open and lean on it are those who cause offloading from trains.

“Ngayon ano hong nangyari dyan? Bakit nagka-offloading? Hindi sa spare parts, hindi sa kakulangan ng makina, hindi sa kakulangan ng tao natin – pasahero,” he said.

(Now what happened there? Why was there offloading? It’s not because of spare parts, not because of lack in machinery, not because lack of manpower – it’s the passengers.)

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, who was interviewing Tugade, also bragged about improvements in the MRT, saying he heard it did not malfunction in the recent weeks.

“Alam ko ilang linggo na na walang nasisira na MRT (I know there has been no MRT problems for the past weeks),” Andanar said.

Tugade attributed this improvement to what he calls inclusive efforts of the Department of Transportation, saying it’s their “love for people and the nation” that fuels their work.  /muf