Duterte on firing Tugade over MRT 3 breakdowns: ‘I will not do that’

MRT-3 (File photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer)

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he wouldn’t fire Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade even after the series of technical glitches that hit the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3).

“I will not do that,” Duterte told reporters in an interview in Pasay City. “I have full trust in Tugade that he can correct the mistakes there and fix it.”

Last Saturday, Reps. Gary Alejano of the Magdalo party-list group and Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis party-list group demanded Tugade’s resignation over his alleged failure to address the MRT problems.

But Duterte said he would be “resisting” such calls.

“I woud be resisting the call or, if you want to put it in another [way], I will decline the request,” he said.

Tugade had earlier told reporters he wouldn’t resign.

Last week, an MRT train car got detached on the northbound section between Ayala and Buendia stations forcing the off-loading at least 130 passengers.

The incident happened two days after a female passenger’s arm was severed in a freak accident at the Ayala Station.

Despite these incidents, Duterte did not give Tugade a timeline that would show when to he would end the MRT 3 problems.

“You know, the problems, they come and go, they crop up every day, of anything,” he said. “And you must also remember that, is it a cliché or is it a colloquial – Murphy’s Law. If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong, and it can happen every day to anybody.” /atm