President Rodrigo Duterte has apologized for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) mishap, wherein a coach suddenly detached from a train in Makati City last week.
In a media interview in Davao City on Saturday, Duterte surmised that the incident may have been intentional.
“It would indicate sabotage or something did it intentionally. So maybe the connecting mechanisms there or equipment seems to be—hindi nila makita or it’s not there when it’s supposed to be there,” he said.
The incident caused major inconvenience to around 140 passengers who were inside the train coaches at that time. They were evacuated from the MRT car between the Buendia and Ayala stations.
Initial investigation revealed that the “messma card” from the detached train cars was missing, leading the Department of Transportation to suspect sabotage.
“We offer no excuse, but apologies maybe to the public for the inconvenience caused,” Duterte added.
The same glitch happened back in 2011 when an electrical problem caused a train coupler to detach at the GMA Kamuning Station in Quezon City.
After the Department of Transportation ended its contract with Busan Universal Rail Inc., the government now temporarily handles the maintenance for the MRT3.
Photo credit: Ivan Villegas
