Poe tells DOTr after LRT-2 accident: Prioritize passenger safety

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) should not forget the safety of the commuting public even as they are attending to many other projects, Senator Grace Poe said Monday.

Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on public services, issued the remark after 34 people were injured when two trains of the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) collided between the Cubao and Anonas stations Saturday night.

She said the DOTr should not forget the existing modes of transportation even as they are attending to other projects

“Talagang ‘wag nating isugal ang buhay ng ating mga pasahero (Let’s not compromise the life of our passengers),” Poe told reporters in an interview.

“Siguro isang bagay na talagang dapat tutukan talaga natin—ng DOTr—‘wag nilang makakaligtaan ang mga transportasyon na nariyan na dahil sa dami ng mga ibang inaasikaso din nila,” she added.

The Senator said it seems that the DOTr is not doing everything even as they promised better transportation.

Proof of this, she said, is the parked train that managed to move on its own and crashed into another train on the LRT-2 tracks.

“Ang mga dapat umandar, hindi umaandar. ‘Yung mga hindi naman dapat umandar, umaandar… Parang hindi nila nagagawa ang lahat ng dapat nilang gawin,” Poe said.

(Those that need to move are not moving. Those that need not move are moving. It appears that they are not doing everything they must do.)

The reelectionist senator said authorities should look into the lapses of LRT-2’s technical operations.

Meanwhile, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), which manages the LRT-2, has ordered a probe to determine the cause of the accident.

READ: LRTA probes train crash

It also issued a statement, along with the DOTR, that the LRT-2 is a “safe mode of public transportation” and that Saturday’s collision was an “isolated incident.”

The operations of the entire LRT-2 route were restored on Sunday.

READ: LRT-2 operations to resume within the day on Sunday