Senator Grace Poe urged the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to ramp up the completion of the MRT-7 to improve connectivity and ease the public’s commuting woes.
With the upcoming EDSA repair and the traffic it will bring, Poe said the timely completion of the railway project will provide an additional mass transportation option to the people.
Motorists will also have an alternative ride to their destination instead of bringing their cars, thereby reducing vehicles on the road.
“We hope the MRT-7 project will soon be a reality.”
“Everyone in Metro Manila is waiting to get on board. We hope the MRT-7 project will soon be a reality,” Poe, chairperson of Senate Committee on Finance, said.
The big-ticket rail project promises a 35-minute travel time from North Avenue in Quezon City to San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan and will have 14 stations.
MRT-7 is targeted to be fully operational by 2026.
The Ramon Ang-led San Miguel Corporation holds the concession to build, operate and maintain the railway.
The veteran legislator said the train will spare commuters from the daily Commonwealth Avenue crawl and will make travel time faster and comfortable.
“Sabi nga ng meme tungkol sa ating trains sa Facebook, ‘Papasok kang estudyante, lalabas kang mandirigma’.”
“Sabi nga ng meme tungkol sa ating trains sa Facebook, ‘Papasok kang estudyante, lalabas kang mandirigma.’ Sana may katapusan naman ang paghihirap ng ating mga commuter,” the seasoned lawmaker stressed.
In 2014, the lady senator took a ride at the MRT during rush hour at the North Avenue Station to see the passengers’ daily ordeal ahead of a Senate inquiry on MRT-3 incidents.
She joined the long queue, experienced machine malfunction and took an hour and a half to get to the Taft Station in Pasay City.
Poe, who later on became chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services, has led numerous legislative inquiries on the country’s train systems, pushing for better facilities, operations and maintenance, and scrutinizing contracts with private providers.
In the current 19th Congress, she filed a resolution for an inquiry into all rail projects that are backed by China.
In the 17th Congress, Poe also filed separate resolutions on the construction of a common train station, and on the management of MRT-3.
“The path to get a train ride in Metro Manila is not as straight as its tracks. It takes a long and winding cue, climbing steep stairs and squeezing oneself in a tight coach,” she said.
“But this should not stop us from working to have better train system and facilities. The Filipinos deserve a dignified ride,” Poe concluded.
