LRTA exec admits it has no disaster recovery plan
MANILA, Philippines — An official of the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) admitted Wednesday that they do not have a disaster recovery plan or playbook to follow in events such as when a burning power rectifier paralyzed the operations of its LRT Line 2 last Thursday, October 3.
READ: LRT-2 back in business, partially
“Sorry Sir, wala po yata,” Engr. Federico Canar, department Manager of LRT Lines 1 and 2 Engineering Department, said at the emergency meeting called by the House transportation committee when asked by Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffy Biazon.
Biazon lamented that this was a “glaring gap.”
“Because knowing that this is a critical infrastructure that any breakdown, whether manmade or natural, will really cause a lot of havoc,” the lawmaker added.
But Atty. Hernando Cabrera, Corporate Board secretary of LRTA, said they would check if this is included in their risk management plan.
Canar also admitted that they are having a hard time determining the cause of the fire.
“Hindi po talaga namin ma-explain bakit ganun kalaki… medyo mahirap pong ipaliwanag, Sir (We cannot really explain why the fire was that big… it was quite hard to explain, Sir),” he said.
LRTA Deputy Administrator for Operations and Engineering Paul Chua said they already ruled out the possibility of arson, and that the Bureau of Fire Protection, which would issue the final assessment, is currently investigating whether the fire was due to a lightning strike or equipment failure.
LRT-2 resumed its partial operations from Cubao (Araneta City terminal) in Quezon City to C.M. Recto Avenue station in Manila on Tuesday morning.
In light of the issue, coupled with the glitches the Metro Rail Transit 3 and LRT-1 faced last week, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes has concluded that a “mass transport crisis” is gripping Metro Manila. /kga
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