Patricia de Leon | CNN Philippines | June 23, 2015

Ronnie Vanguardia leaves home early but still arrives late to work at times due to malfunctions in the MRT.

 "Sinasabi namin nasira. Binabawas doon sa sweldo namin. May pamilya din naman kami," Vanguardia said.

Cristeta Lumalang says her employer won't accept MRT glitches as valid excuse to be late for work.

"Talagang papagalitan. Sasabunin po talaga kami. Nananahimik nalang po ako kasi wala ho akong choice dahil wala naman ho kaming pribadong sasakyan," Lumalang said.

System breakdowns are nothing new to MRT passengers. They happen almost every week. And the results--running late, thousands of angry passengers have no choice but to wait for the MRT to resume operation or find other means to reach their destination.

Some commuters have written the MRT management asking for a formal incident report as cause for their tardiness. The MRT management is now issuing such letter to passengers who request for one.

"Basta sa'min transparency naman ang aming habol dito kapag may humingi ng report sa kalagayan ng MRT ay wala naman kaming problema maglabas ng accurate na report sa mga humihingi," DOTC Spokesperson Migs Sagcal said.

The incident report indicates the date, time, location, and circumstances of incidents involving the MRT. Passengers need to ask for a report from the MRT station supervisor and wait four to five days to get one.

Asked if Ronnie and Cristeta will ask for an excuse letter:

"Opo kukuha ako. Para wala ng kaltas sa sweldo; pangalawa, hindi na po ako masasabon."

"Maaaring hindi siguro tatanggapin ng kumpanya kasi sila 'yung napeperwisyo, sila rin 'yung nagpapalwal ng sweldo, tsaka 'yung trabaho tumatagal," Ronnie said.

Schools and offices are not obliged to honor the letter. The Bayan Muna party list wants to lower MRT fares next month because of the train system's bad service. 

If not, the group plans to file administrative and criminal charges against the transportation department. The MRT increased its rates in January.

"Sa kabila nang pagtaas ng MRT (fare) nananatiling bulok, palpak, at delikado 'yung MRT," Bayan Muna partylist member Momoy Cruz.

Transport officials say improvements in the MRT's performance will come after new maintenance providers start work on July 5.

Patricia de Leon, CNN Philippines