While admiring Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary for Rails Cesar Chavez’s “sense of delicadeza,” Senator Grace Poe expressed doubts that it was the sole reason behind his sudden resignation on Thursday.
Chavez resigned from his position amid the persistent mechanical glitches hounding the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3).
READ: DOTr Usec. Cesar Chavez resigns over MRT-3 mess
“I respect Usec. Cesar Chavez for tendering his resignation in the light of the MRT problems. I admire his sense of delicadeza although I doubt that that is the only reason that prompted him to resign,” Poe, chair of the Senate public services committee, said in a statement.
Poe regarded Chavez as one among transportation officials who are determined to fully address the issues troubling the MRT-3.
“He seemed to be one of the DOTr officials who was determined to fully address all the issues plaguing the MRT. I recall he was instrumental in unearthing the persons involved in anomalies that caused these issues,” Poe said.
Despite the resignation of Chavez, the senator believed that it is now high time to evaluate DOTr’s actions and leadership on the MRT-3 mess.
“However, it is time to evaluate the actions and the leadership of the DOTr as a whole in connection with how issues hounding the MRT have been addressed,” she said.
“These issues should be properly and expeditiously resolved despite Usec. Chavez’s resignation and especially considering the commuting horrors our people have to go through every day,” she added.
Poe also hoped that President Rodrigo Duterte would find someone who is “able and willing to take up the cudgels that Chavez left behind.”
“I hope the President finds someone able and willing to take up the cudgels that Usec. left behind in order to finally ensure the safety and convenience of the riding public,” she said. /kga