Palace says no need for Duterte to meet BURI execs as Roque’s train ride hit

November 23, 2017

Malacanang rejected on Thursday the call of the executives of Busan Universal Rail, Inc. to have an audience with President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the Palace finds "no reason to have the requested meeting."

"We have already canceled the contract with BURI and the government decided to meanwhile take over the maintenance of MRT (Metro Rail Transit Line 3)," he said.

The Department of Transportation earlier terminated its P3.8-billion contract with BURI, a Filipino-Korean firm, for its failure to address the problems in the MRT-3 operation.

BURI's lawyer Maricris Pahate has said they wanted to personally explain to Duterte their side and how their contract was unceremoniously terminated by the DOTr.

Roque rode the MRT 3 and the Light Rail Transit Line 1 to see for himself the condition of the railway system.

"It's important for the Palace to know the state of MRT and that is the reason why we are here," he told reporters who accompanied him in riding the trains.

Since he did not experience any problem in riding the MRT3, he said it was not that bad.

But some netizens criticized Roque's action, saying it was just a "PR stunt."

"Harry Roque's PR stunt causing even more inconvenience for MRT riders is just a perfect portrait of this government's bullshit," said @philbertdy on Twitter.

"The thing is, we don't need Harry Roque or anyone else to tell us how crappy the MRT is. This pakitang-tao stunt ain't fooling anybody. Everyone knows the MRT is shit on tracks," said @NotdahelMarcel on Twitter also.

But Roque shrugged off the criticisms against him, saying he was been used to it. He said he used to ride the MRT3.

"But it is important now to send the message that the government of President Duterte is listening," Roque said. Celerina Monte/DMS