The Office of the Ombudsman ordered the preliminary investigation of top executives of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) for entering into an allegedly anomalous maintenance contract for the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3). Facing criminal investigation for graft are DoTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, former MRT General Manager Al Vitangcol III, DoTC Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) members Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla, Undersecretary Rene Limcaoco, Undersecretary Rafael Antonio Santos, Assistant Secretary Ildefonso Patdu, Assistant Secretary Dante Lantin, and LRTA Administrator Honorito Chaneco; members of the Negotiating Team Misael Narca, Arnel Manresa, Natividad Sansolis, engineers Joel Magbanua, Gina Rodriguez, Raphael Lavides, lawyer Geronimo Quintos, Eugene Cecilio; and representatives of the Philippine Trans Rail Management and Services Corporation-Comm Builders and Technology Philippines Corporation (PH Trams - CB&T) Wilson De Vera Arturo Soriano, Marlo Dela Cruz, Manolo Maralit and Federico Remo. Additionally, Vitangcol, De Vera, Soriano, Dela Cruz, Maralit and Remo face a separate set of charges for violations of the Government Procurement Reform Act. Aside from the criminal charges, administrative charges for Grave Misconduct and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service have also been filed against Abaya, Lotilla, Limcaoco, Santos, Patdu, Lantin, Chaneco, Narca, Magbanua, Manresa, Sansolis, Rodriguez, Cecilio, Lavides, Quintos including Arturo Soriano who is now Provincial Accountant of the province of Pangasinan. Vitangcol left MRT in May 2014. The complaint filed by the Field Investigation Office (FIO) alleges that a maintenance agreement for the trains was entered into in December 1997 between the MRT Corporation (MRTC) as facility owner and the Sumitomo Corporation for its safe and proper operations, including the provision for labor and supervision. The original maintenance agreement between MRTC and Sumitomo expired on June 21, 2010 and had undergone four extensions from June 2010 until October 2012. Documents gathered by Ombudsman investigators show that 15 days prior to the expiration of the last extension the BAC adopted a resolution for the procurement of an interim maintenance provider for six months by negotiation. In October 2012, the Negotiating Team recommended that the project be awarded to PH Trams - CB&T joint venture in the amount of US$1.1 million monthly. On October 20, 2012, the project was awarded to PH Trams - CB&T without public bidding. The field investigators found no emergency situation that would justify the negotiated procurement, given that as early as 2010 the MRTC transferred the responsibility for the procurement of the technical maintenance to the DoTC. Records from the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that PH Trams was barely two months old when the project was awarded, having been incorporated only on August 6, 2012 with a paid-up capital of only P625,000. National Statistics Office records also establish that Vitangcol is related by affinity to PH Trams incorporator Arturo Soriano, who is his uncle-in-law. The complaint adds that as early as October 1, 2012, Sumitomo wrote DoTC regarding the technically critical issues that require urgent and immediate action focusing on parts shortage in the automated fare collection system, signaling system, and passenger overload. Joint venture member CB&T also has a separate criminal case pending with the Office of the Ombudsman for under-delivery of labor input required in the LRT Line 1 system. In June 2014, preliminary investigation and administrative adjudication were also initiated against Vitangcol and De Vera for Dishonesty, Grave Misconduct, Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service, and violations of Section 3 (b) of R.A. No. 3019 and Section 7(d) of R.A. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees), in connection with the complaint of Inekon Group CEO and Chairman Josef Husek and Czech Ambassador Joseph Rychtar alleging that Vitangcol and De Vera attempted to extort money from Czech firm in exchange for the service and maintenance contract worth P3.76 billion under the MRT3 Capacity Expansion Project. Nothing to hide This was the response by DoTC Secretary Emilio Joseph Abaya Jr. to the order of Office of the Ombudsman to investigate him and other top officials of DoTC. Abaya said “if you have nothing to hide, there is no reason to fear any investigation.” ”As always, we will cooperate fully with the investigation of the Office of the Ombudsman, just as we have with investigations undertaken by different branches and agencies of government, such as the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the National Bureau of Investigation,” he said. ”We remain committed to transparency and the eradication of corruption in government. Ultimately, it is the public that will benefit from the search for truth,” Abaya said.
Source: Journal.com.ph
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