Graft probe ordered on Abaya, Vitangcol

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the investigation of top officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) for entering into an allegedly anomalous maintenance contract for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3).

To be investigated are Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya; former MRT general manager Al Vitangcol III; Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) members undersecretaries Jose Perpetuo Lotilla, Rene Limcaoco and Rafael Antonio Santos, assistant secretaries Ildefonso Patdu and Dante Lantin, and Light Rail Transit Authority administrator Honorito Chaneco; and members of the negotiating team Misael Narca, Joel Magbanua, Arnel Manresa, Natividad Sansolis, Gina Rodriguez, Eugene Cecilio, Raphael Lavides and Geronimo Quintos.

Representatives from the joint venture of the Philippine Trans Rail Management and Services Corp.-Comm Builders and Technology Philippines Corp. (PH Trams-CB&T) Wilson de Vera, Arturo Soriano, Marlo dela Cruz, Manolo Maralit and Federico Remo also face investigation.

Vitangcol, De Vera, Soriano, Dela Cruz, Maralit and Remo will also be investigated for possible violation of Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

Administrative charges for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service have been filed against Abaya, Lotilla, Limcaoco, Santos, Patdu, Lantin, Chaneco, Narca, Magbanua, Manresa, Sansolis, Rodriguez, Cecilio, Lavides, Quintos and Arturo Soriano, who is now accountant of the province of Pangasinan.

Based on the complaint filed by the Field Investigation Office, a maintenance agreement was entered into by MRT Corp. (MRTC) and the Sumitomo Corp. in December 1997.

The agreement, which expired on June 21, 2010, had undergone four extensions from June 2010 until October 2012.

The ombudsman said it discovered that 15 days prior to the expiration of the last extension, a new contract amounting to $1.15 million a month was awarded to PH Trams- CB&T without public bidding.

The ombudsman said it found no emergency situation that would justify the negotiated procurement since the MRTC transferred the responsibility for the procurement of the technical maintenance to the DOTC as early as 2010.

The complaint also noted that as early as Oct. 1, 2012, Sumitomo had informed the DOTC of issues that require urgent attention such as parts shortage in the automated fare collection system, signaling system and passenger overload.

According to records from the Securities and Exchange Commission, PH Trams was barely two months old when the project was awarded to the firm, having been incorporated on Aug. 6, 2012 with a paid-up capital of only P625,000.

It was also learned that Vitangcol is related by affinity to PH Trams incorporator Arturo Soriano, who is his uncle-in-law.

A complaint has also been filed against joint venture member CB&T for alleged under-delivery of labor input required in the LRT Line 1 system.

Vitangcol and De Vera were earlier accused by Czech firm Inekon Group chief executive officer and chairman Josef Husek and Czech Ambassador Joseph Rychtar of attempting to extort $30 million in connection with the purchase of additional trains for the MRT-3.