Ahead of maintenance, MRT3 has more trains but more breakdowns

More trains are now available to the commuting public but it still suffers from more breakdown incidents on the same week

The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) may be running on more trains now with 12 trains operating, but it broke down 5 times this week.

From March 17 to March 23, the MRT3 suffered 5 glitches – two of which were caused by electrical failure in the affected train's motor, two due to door failure, while another was due to a signalling problem.

Transportation officials earlier attributed the increase of trains to the availability of spare parts. The glitches this week, however, is not due to lack of spare parts, MRT3 media relations officer Aly Narvaez told Rappler.

"Spare parts for rolling stock and power were delivered but electrical failure is one of the common causes of unloading," Narvaez said in a mix of English and Filipino.

"Door failure may be caused by human intervention, when passengers lean on the door or when they force it open. It causes pressure on door components, and eventually on the motor, which results to the glitch," she added.

There have been 9 breakdown incidents in March, or a total of 47 glitches when 2018 started, affecting some 3,000 passengers in total.

The railway system served close to 300,000 passengers from March 19 to March 22, about 5% increase from the first week of March ridership of only 286,000.

More glitches

On Saturday, March 17, around 340 passengers were unloaded at GMA-Kamuning Station at 5:08 pm due to electrical failure. The day averaged with 11 working trains, serving some 235,000 passengers on a Saturday.

On Sunday, March 18, the day opened with 12 running trains at 6 pm but the MRT3 suffered from a glitch in the afternoon.

At 6:49 pm, a Southbound MRT3 train unloaded around 600 passengers at Ortigas Station due to signalling error. Despite the glitch, the railway operator ran on an average of 12 trains with a ridership of 165,000 on a Sunday.

On Monday, March 19, there were 11 trains running when the week started. It experienced two glitches in the evening.

At 6:45 pm, around 740 passengers were unloaded by a Southbound MRT3 train at Shaw Boulevard Station due to electrical failure. More than an hour after, some 400 passengers got off at Magallanes Station at 8:03 pm due to door failure.

The day ended with 11 trains on average but was able to serve almost 310,000 passengers despite the glitches.

On Tuesday, March 20, 11 trains were running the entire day serving some 297,000 passengers.

On Wednesday, March 21, 11 trains were running by 6 am. It went up to 12 by 7 pm. The day closed with an average of 11 operational trains serving more than 295,000 passengers.

On Thursday, March 22, there were 12 running trains available for the commuting public by 6 am. But a glitch happened at 6:19 pm, with a Northbound MRT3 train unloading around 1,000 passengers at Buendia Station due to door failure.

On Friday, March 23, the day opened with 12 trains at 6 am. The MRT3 was able to maintain the number of trains through out the day but by 7:32 pm, there were 13 trains running.

Maintenance

The MRT3 is scheduled to conduct its maintenance services from March 28 to April 1, closing down operations on those days.

MRT3 announced on Thursday that the team is all set for the maintenance activities during the Holy Week, preparing 1,000 meters of contact wire, 100 pieces of diffusers, cans of paint for repainting of walls and signages, as well as signalling parts for the general cleaning.

The MRT3 management also said that 782 light rail vehicle tires will also be available for the annual maintenance of the trains.

Once the rehabilitation of MRT3 trains are done, the transportation department promised that 15 trains should be up and running by April. (READ: DOTr promises better MRT3 services by 2nd quarter of 2018)

Experts from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) joint advisory panel will also join the MRT3 team during the maintenance services.

In 2017, the MRT3 has an average daily ridership of 463,000 from 20 running trains. In November 2017, this was later adjusted to 15 to ensure the safety of passengers after anomalies with former maintenance provider Busan Universal Rail Incorporated's performance. (READ: Surviving MRT3: Worst train fails in 2017)

The number was later reduced to the available trains now to ensure passenger safety. In February 2018, the number of trains went down to as few as 6 trains. (READ: MRT3 suffers almost daily breakdowns since start of 2018)

There were 516 MRT3 glitches recorded in 2017 – almost 10 incidents a week.

ABS-CBN posts P3.16 billion net income in 2017, exceeds goal

ABS-CBN Corp said Friday it posted net income of P3.16 billion in 2017, as rising consumer sales aided revenue growth.

The country's largest media and entertainment company said consolidated revenues reached P40.7 billion last year. Consumer sales rose by a "healthy" 9 percent.

"Overall, we are pleased with our performance for 2017 and we are particularly happy to have exceeded our guidance for net income," said ABS-CBN chief financial officer Aldrin Cerrado.

The company maintained its TV ratings lead last year, headlined by the long-running Coco Martin police drama "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano," followed by "Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids" and "The Voice Teens."

It followed closely by Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo's fantasy series, "La Luna Sangre", and the news program "TV Patrol" 

Also making to the list are "Langit Lupa," "Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin," "It’s Showtime," "ASAP," "Ipaglaban Mo," "The Better Half," "The Promise of Forever," "Hanggang Saan," "The Greatest Love," Pusong Ligaw,", "Wildflower," "My Dear Heart," "A Love to Last," "The Good Son," "TWBA," "Bandila," "Home Sweetie Home," "Little Big Shots," "MMK," "I Can Do That," "I Can See Your Voice," "Gandang Gabi Vice," "Wansapanataym" and "Rated K".

With the ratings-based pricing called CPIRP that has been in place since 2015, Cerrado said "improved ratings directly translate to increased revenues."

Total costs and expenses for 2017 were flat compared to the previous year. On a per-hour basis, costs were down 2 percent, ABS-CBN said.

Total assets rose to P75.1 billion as of end of December 2017 compared to P72.7 billion in 2016. The company’s equity base increased to P33.7 billion from P31.7 billion.

As of December 2017, ABS-CBN said it sold 4.3 million units of its TVPlus. By the end of 2018, the company hopes to breach the 6-million mark, ABS-CBN Group CFO Ron Valdueza said.

"Our subsidiaries also made significant contributions to our revenue growth," he said.

Star Cinema sold P2.9 billion in tickets. "The Revenger Squad" alone grossed almost P600 million. 

SkyCable revenues grew 4 percent to P9.1 billion in 2017, driven by a 21-percent increase in broadband and DTH Subscribers. By year-end, the company had over one million PayTV subscribers and more than 200,000 broadband subscribers, bringing Sky’s total subscriber base to over 1.2 million.

The Filipino Channel staged "ASAP Live in Toronto" in Canada with a 7,000-strong audience.

Kidzania, the company’s educational theme park, attracted over 330,000 visitors for 2017, while TV shopping channel O Shopping generated P840 million in sales.

Sony PDW-850 XDCAM HD422 2/3" 3CCD Camcorder

Donald J. Duterte

It had to happen, sooner or later.

This latest nickname for the American president was seen on a protester’s placard in New Hampshire—the first state that gets to vote in US electoral primaries—after Trump said the other day that he might consider pushing the death penalty for “drug kingpins” who, because of their deadly trade, effectively commit multiple murder.

Such a move would of course have to clear the US Congress as well as the Supreme Court, which among other things would have to rule whether such a drastic federal penalty is proportionate to the gravity of the offense committed. Evidently Trump thinks so, an opinion that is obviously shared by Donald’s “brother” Digong.

* * *

But neither Trump nor other right-thinking Americans should need a Duterte to point out the gravity of the threat posed by the drug trade. The entirety of American culture today is awash in drugs, so much so that a wildly popular TV series like “Breaking Bad” could run for nearly ten seasons purely on the misadventures of a couple of social misfits who turn to baking crystal meth, or shabu.

The reason drug usage gets away with a wink and a nod in the States—and can even end up being glorified like the heroes of “Breaking Bad”—is the reification of Rights and of the Self in that thoroughly self-absorbed culture. If I’m able to get away with doing something, no matter what it is, then it’s probably a Right that I’m entitled to, just because it’s something I want to do.

It’s a pervasive way of thinking that cuts across ideological divides. On the far right, groups like the NRA are ready to die for their constitutional right to bear arms, even if that so-called right is clearly premised by the US Constitution on the existence of, and need for, a popular militia—one that, 250 years later, has long been replaced by a professional standing army.

On the lefty-liberal side, the same groups who’d oppose Trump’s death penalty for druggies—let alone Duterte’s far harsher statements—are virtually certain to be the same people who’d cheer the Right of American mothers to murder a million unborn babies every year, vilify pro-life Catholics exercising their own free speech rights as “the new Taliban,” and want the US State Department to coerce countries like ours to adopt abortion policies buried deep within “planned parenthood” and “responsible parenthood” programs.

The hypocrisy—on human rights, unborn babies’ rights, drug criminals’ rights—is so rank, it makes you gag.

But doesn’t an abortion ban drive women with unwanted pregnancies underground? Heck, yes, and of course it should. Murdering the unborn is a practice that deserves to be carried out with shame, in the shadows. Underground is where it belongs, together with purveyors of the drug trade—in their case, six feet under.

* * *

Talking about hypocrisy may not be the best segue into a look at the latest news from our esteemed leaders in Congress. Or—maybe it is?

Over at the House, the honorable congressmen voted a new divorce bill into law, 134-57 with two abstentions. It was noteworthy that after the vote, Duterte broke his conspicuous silence on the issue to reveal that, no, he was opposed to the new bill, because it would be “disadvantageous” to children and abandoned mothers.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who shepherded the bill through the House, has announced that he will be talking to the President to try and change his mind. After all, they share a common history of failed first marriages—one which unfortunately is all too common as well in our country, whether or not the couple is honest, or lucky, enough to split up and move on.

We sense, however, that Duterte is being canny about the divorce issue, which isn’t part of his core agenda for governance. If the true believers in the Senate on either side of this issue win his vote against the other side, they ought to add their strength to the President’s on the issues that do matter to him.

Speaking of the Senate, those exalted ladies and gentlemen approved, by 17-2, a new law creating a national identification system. The new national ID card can be used in all transactions with government, making it more convenient for our citizens to avail of public services. The ball is now with the House to come up with a similar counterpart bill from their end, which can then be consolidated into a single law for the President’s OK.

The new ID card ought to be less controversial than divorce, except for the usual leftist claptrap about government invasion of privacy. But what may upset some other folks is a recent estimate from Neda that the new system may cost up to P24 billion to roll out. We hope we get to see the details about those imposing costs as soon as possible.

* * *

We close with our occasional roundup of economic news, most of it, again, positive:

The Philippines finally inked a new agreement for a P51-billion loan from Japan to finance the planned Metro Manila subway. This will be the first tranche for the P357-billion first phase of this ambitious project. Even if it breaks ground on schedule, it’s sure to be unfinished by the time Duterte steps down. That’s why we ought to elect the right man—or woman—again in 2022.

AMRO, a regional think tank, expects our economy to grow even faster in 2018 and 2019 due to buoyant exports and higher domestic consumption driven by grand infrastructure projects like the new subway. But even with funds like the Japanese loans coming in, I’m not sure if we have the non-financial resources—technical talent, cooperative local governments, transparency and political will—to start up all those projects on schedule.

All that growth is bound to take a toll on the country’s financials. The current account deficit more than doubled last year to hit its highest level since 1999, mainly because of strong imports. The overall balance of payments deficit also more than doubled last year, albeit still within government’s original target due to record-high inflows of foreign direct investments. And this early, the 4 percent inflation target for the current year is already certain to be breached.

To put things in perspective, though, any fast-growing economy always runs the risks of overheating as well as over-leverage. Even as we’re watching out for these risks, let’s not take our eyes off the prize.

Readers can write me at gbolivar1952@yahoo.com.

Senate approves bill creating 8th district for Cavite

(UPDATED) – The Senate has okayed a House measure that would increase the number of Cavite's congressional districts to 8.

On March 5, the Senate approved on 3rd and final reading House Bill 5367, reapportioning the 6th and 7th legislative districts. Sponsored by Senate local government committee chair Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, the bill was sent back to the House on March 8.

If the measure is enacted, General Trias City would have its own district, becoming the new 6th district.

The rest of the current 6th district – Trece Martires City, Tanza, and Amadeo – plus the town of Indang would compose the new 7th district.

The new 8th district would be what's left of the current 7th: Tagaytay City, Alfonso, General Aguinaldo, Magallanes, Maragondon, Mendez, Naic, and Ternate.

The bill – authored by Representatives Luis Ferrer IV of the 6th district, Abraham Tolentino of the 7th District, and Roy Loyola of the 5th District – seeks to amend Section 1 of Republic Act 9727, which reorganized the province into its current 7 districts.

The House approved HB 5367 on 3rd reading on May 15, 2017.

According to the 1987 Constitution, legislative districts "shall comprise, as far as practicable, contiguous, compact, and adjacent territory."

Cities with a population of at least 250,000 are also entitled to have at least one representative. Based on the 2015 Census, General Trias City has a population of 314,303.