MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Saturday ordered the Philippine National Police and barangay officials to arrest those who will throw stones on the new Philippine National Railways (PNR) trains bought from Indonesia.
“Inaatasan ko ang ating kapulisan at ang mga barangay officials na nakatalaga malapit sa dinadaanan ng tren na maging mapagbantay at siguruhing hindi mapipinsala ang mga tren na ito para matagal pang magamit at mapakinabangan ng publiko,” Año said in a statement.
(I am directing all police officers and barangay officials stationed near our trains to closely monitor and ensure that the trains will not be damaged so that passengers would still use the new trains.)
Año made the statement after the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) received reports that the glass windshields of new PNR trains were damaged by stones thrown by people along the rail tracks.
According to Año, the stone-throwing incidents are “alarming” as these have become common incidents in Metro Manila.
On Feb. 20, PNR rolled out two train sets from Indonesian manufacturer PT Industri Kereta Api (INKA) which are composed of eight rail cars with four-car formation per train set.
The trains from Indonesia can accommodate over 1,000 passengers and will be using a route from Tutuban in Manila to Los Baños in Laguna.