The Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) is studying the feasibility of privatizing of the operation and management of all railway systems so that there will be a single ticketing system for the existing and soon-to-be constructed railways.

DoTC Undersecretary Glicerio Sicat for Aviation and Railways said the agency is looking at ways to promote greater involvement of the private sector in the operation and management of Light Rail Transit lines 1 and 2, and the proposed Metro Rail Transit line 7. It was recalled that the MRT-3 is already operated by a private corporation led by the Sobrepena Family.

“We're looking at different schemes, one of which is the formula in which the concessionaire will takeover the operation and maintenance of the railways so that the government will no longer worry on the operations," he said.

Sicat said the DoTC feasibility study is under way and is expected to be finished within a year or two. If results of the study favor the privatization of the railways, he said the government will only be owning the rail tracks while the concessionaires will be in charge of operating and upgrading the railway facilities.

If privatization of the railways proves convenient to the government, Sicat said it will only be pursued only after the extensions of LRT 1 to Bacoor, Cavite and LRT 2 to Masinag, Antipolo are finished. This developed as Land Transportation Office (LTO) Chief Virginia Torres vowed to pursue an intensified campaign against non-appearance testing during registration of vehicles.

Earlier, officials of Private Emission Test Center Operators Association (PETCOA), Coalition of Clean Air Advocates (CCAA) and Petc-IT providers RDMS, Eurolink, Etcit at Cyberlink vowed to campaign against non-appearance testing following a meeting with Torres. She added that the LTO will look into the link between non-appearance testing and the direct connect with the Stradcom.

PETCOA President Tony Halili also promised to police his ranks to prevent non-appearance testing.

Halili said that that several member-PETCs have been shut down for their allegedly non-appearance operations. But the PETCs closed by CCAA reopened after they direct connect with Stradcom.