QUEZON CITY — Elijah San Fernando of the Kamanggagawa Partylist on Friday called on the Department of Transportation and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to immediately remove Michael Capati from his post as general manager of MRT Line 3, describing the current management of the rail system as a “disaster waiting to happen.”
The demand came after the lawmaker’s visit with the MRT-3 Employees Association regarding the systemic labor abuse and critical safety breaches allegedly enforced by Capati.
During the dialogue, workers revealed that among all major train lines in the country, only MRT-3 personnel are forced to endure 9-hour shifts. Worse, these shifts often come without a single mid-break. Operators are required to run five continuous loops often resulting in nine straight hours of operating heavy machinery which employees have decried as unsafe.
They also flagged a critical safety breach in MRT-3 after Capati reportedly forced the use of six four-car trains despite the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system being strictly configured only for three-car trains.
“Risk ito sa driver at lalo na sa mga mananakay. Nilalagay natin sa alanganin ang kaligtasan ng publiko dahil naisasangkalan ang quality ng pagmamaneho ng mga train operator natin dahil wala silang pahinga. Tao ang nagpapatakbo ng mga tren na ito, hindi makina,” San Fernando said.
Union workers noted that their consistent warnings regarding the safety of the MRT-3 have been met with nothing but hostility from the General Manager, forcing them to resort to a signature campaign to call for his removal. However, Capati reportedly threatened not to renew the contracts of employees who refused to retract their signatures.
“Ang problema kay Capati, sarado ang tenga. Sa halip na makinig, pinag-iinitan pa ang mga manggagawa. Lakas din ng trip mo, eh—mas inuuna mo pa ang power-tripping kaysa sa serbisyo at kaligtasan ng publiko,” San Fernando said.
The lawmaker also linked the issue to the ongoing energy crisis, decrying the government’s current transportation policy as “reckless”.
“Hinihikayat ng administrasyon ang taumbayang mag-commute para makatipid sa mahal na langis, pero isasakay niyo naman pala sa dekalibreng kabaong sa riles? Kung may maaksidente man dahil sa kapabayaan ni Capati, that blood will be on the hands of this administration,” San Fernando warned.
Kamanggagawa Partylist previously wrote to DOTr Secretary Giovanni Lopez in February to address these concerns, but the letter has gone unanswered for over a month.
“Ano bang gusto niyo mangyari, Secretary Giovanni Lopez? Gusto niyo ba may maaksidente muna, may mamatay, o may mag-viral munang video bago kayo umaksyon? Tinutulugan niyo sa kangkungan ang problema habang daang libong manggagawa at ordinaryong Pilipino ang nakataya ang buhay araw-araw,” San Fernando stressed.
The lawmaker also called out GM Capati’s supposed claims of being “untouchable” due to his backing from Malacañang.
“Masyadong mayabang itong si Capati. Pinagmamalaki niya pa raw na wala siyang pakialam sa reklamo dahil backer niya si Pangulong Bongbong Marcos. So ganito na ba tayo ngayon, Pangulo? Poproteksyunan niyo ang isang General Manager na hindi ginagawa ang trabaho at pinapahamak ang publiko?”
San Fernando concluded his visit by echoing the call of the union for a clean break from the current leadership.
“Alam ng management ang maraming problema pero pilit na itinatago at pinagtatakpan ni Capati. Ang nakasangkalan dito ay buhay at kamatayan. Kaya ang ating panawagan kay Secretary Lopez at kay Pangulong Marcos: pakinggan niyo ang unyon, tanggalin niyo na si Michael Capati. Wala nang dahilan para manatili siya sa pwesto. Ang tanging paraan para umayos ang MRT ay kapag tinanggal niyo ang ugat ng problema,” he concluded.
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