Sack Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya immediately, Sen. Grace Poe Wednesday urged President Aquino, citing the Transportation and Communications (DOTC) official’s “incompetence and shortsightedness” that she said could endanger the “safety of the riding public.”

“The situation is critical,” warned Poe of the major problems besetting the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), which carries hundreds of thousands of commuters daily.

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“…(T)here is no more daily maintenance of train brakes and bogey wheels, daily inspection of tracks for cracks, (or) daily testing of signaling as per [standard operating procedure] in any metro system,” said Poe, who led Senate inquiries on the MRT’s frequent breakdowns and the inadequacy of its coaches and station facilities.

“I urge the good President not to wait for Abaya to resign but to replace him immediately. Five months left (in this administration) is an eternity to our riding public. We have endured more than three years of Abaya’s incompetence and shortsightedness,” Poe said in a statement about the DOTC chief, a political ally of Mr. Aquino and the secretary-general of the Liberal Party, which the President heads.

Priority

“The safety of the riding public is of utmost importance,” the senator said, adding that a reliable public transport system should be a “priority.”

Mr. Aquino himself could step in, take control of the DOTC and harness the resources at its disposal to address the transportation problems, she added.

Reacting to Poe’s suggestion, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. Wednesday said that President Aquino as Chief Executive “continually assesses” the performance of all Cabinet members.

“The President has tasked the DOTC and other concerned agencies to address day-to-day problems faced by commuters in the (National Capital Region). Additional transport infrastructure are also being built and planned to provide long term solutions,” Coloma added.

Abaya meanwhile said it was a “privilege” to be serving the people, but “like any privilege it can be taken away anytime.”

This was not the first time that Poe had called for Abaya’s replacement.

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Delays in delivery

In November, following delays in the delivery of new coaches for the MRT and the rehabilitation of elevators and toilets, the senator said the country “deserve(s) a better DOTC chief.”

“Secretary Abaya is very intelligent, but I think we need someone who is not just competent. We need someone who would focus on the project so that deliveries would be on time,” Poe said.

The senator said at that time that not replacing Abaya because there were only a few months left in the Aquino administration would be tantamount to saying that the DOTC official’s actions were acceptable.

Abaya earlier said improvements in the MRT’s services could be expected in the first quarter of 2016 with the delivery of 16 new trains.

The DOTC last month awarded the three-year MRT maintenance contract to the Joint Venture of Busan Transportation Corporation, Edison Development & Construction, Tramat Mercantile, Inc., TMI Corp Inc., and Castan Corporation. With reports by Nikko Dizon and Miguel Camus

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