Solon calls MRT practice of issuing excuse letters ‘pathetic’

A militant solon hit as “pathetic” the practice of issuing excuse letters for passengers running late due to breakdowns of Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3).

In a statement Monday, Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate said the issuance of the excuse slips for late passengers due to MRT glitches is an “absurd way to address the problems of our mass transit system.”

He added that the practice of issuing excuse slips is a “pathetic way of evading the real issue of why the MRT is becoming a massively unreliable mode of transport.”

Zarate said while more developed countries like Japan and the United States have employed the practice of giving out excuse letters, a developing country like the Philippines will find this difficult to implement because of the almost daily occurrence of MRT breakdowns.

“Other countries such as Japan and the US had practiced the system of giving out excuse slips for tardy passengers, where the wintry weather or malfunctions cause occasional delays on train operations. However, here in the Philippines, where the problem is the maintenance and the meager number of trains, being late for work is an everyday situation for MRT commuters. I could imagine they would be swamped by requests for excuse letters if this becomes a practice,” Zarate said.

Quoting the Department of Transportation and Communication, CNN Philippines reported that the passengers affected by the MRT delays may request for incident reports from the station supervisor.

The incident report or excuse letter indicates the date, time, location of and reason for the delay, according to the report.

A complaining passenger will have to wait for four to five days to get one, it added.

Zarate maintained that the MRT should enforce a fare rollback after its recent fare hike failed to address the deteriorating conditions of the mass transit system.

“Despite the fare hikes, the MRT has continually deteriorated and even endangers its passengers. There is no excuse letter that could justify this to beleaguered commuters who now pay more for terrible, unsafe service,” Zarate said.