The Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) on Monday, Sept. 4, apologized following the incident at the Light Rail Transit 1 (LRT 1) - Monumento Station in Caloocan City where a finger of a man got stuck between the doors of a train last Aug. 23.

“We sincerely apologize for the unfortunate incident that happened at #LRT1 Monumento Stn last 23 Aug 2023 involving a male passenger who was door-pinned while boarding a Gen-1 train from the station platform & another passenger who pressed the emergency button inside the train,” LRMC said in a tweet.

A post by a netizen regarding the incident circulated on social media on Aug. 23.

In the post, the netizen narrated that the incident happened at LRT-Monumento Station where a man’s right thumb suddenly got caught up between the closing doors of the train after passengers rushed to enter the train at around 7:30 a.m.

The man allegedly kept knocking at the doors while other passengers tried to help him until one of them decided to push the emergency button.

According to the post, a security personnel allegedly approached the passengers and asked for the person who pressed the emergency button to alight from the train after the incident.

The captain of the train also allegedly said that pressing the emergency button of the train is prohibited despite the explanations by the passengers on why pressing it was done to save one of them.

“Based on initial incident review, the affected male passenger boarded the train & held on the door causing his fingers to be caught between the closing doors. We note that among the different generations of LRT-1 trains, the Gen-1 train set was not designed with automatic door sensors,” the LRMC said.

The LRMC added the male passenger was immediately assisted by the platform security personnel and was offered to be brought to the LRMC Clinic located at the Central Station.

It said the man declined the offer and instead availed of the first aid treatment at the Monumento Station for his minor right thumb injury.

It explained that the emergency button is only used to alert the driver and bring the train to an emergency stop if an extraordinary situation develops.

“It is part of regular protocols to asses the cause of the door activation via emergency button before allowing the train to depart to ensure safety,” it said.

“While LRMC is still completing a more thorough investigation on this isolated incident, we would like to assure the riding public that we do not tolerate disrespectful behavior in the team, and we strive to find solutions to keep improving our services everyday,” it added.

It said it will refresh the customer service training of the staff to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

The LRMC also urged the public to help them in promoting and maintaining a safe public transport system through proper passenger conduct and the observance of safety guidelines.