Abaya, others face charges over contract for MRT coaches

MANILA, Philippines - Former transportation secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and five former transportation officials are facing charges for allegedly entering into a disadvantageous contract worth P3.8 billion with a Chinese firm for the supply of coaches for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT).

In a 12-page complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman yesterday, anti-corruption groups: Anti-Trapo Movement of the Philippines (ATM), Liga ng Eksplosibong Pagbabago (LEP) and United Filipino Consumers and Commuters (UFCC) said Abaya and five other transportation officials must be investigated for violations of Sections 3 (e) and (g) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The complaint stemmed from the former Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC)’s awarding of a contract worth P3,769,382,400 to Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. Ltd. in January 2014 for the supply of 48 coaches to the MRT.

The complainants said that while all 48 coaches were delivered early this year, none of them is operational.

The complainants also said the delivered coaches were not equipped with any signaling system despite the technical specifications provision of the contract stating that all coaches shall be equipped with automatic train protection (ATP) signals.

The coaches also did not undergo prior testing on their operability.

“Dalian miserably failed to deliver what were required in the contract, thereby causing undue injury to the Filipino people and the government. The non-operational Dalian-made coaches likewise resulted in lost farebox revenues amounting to millions of pesos,” the complaint read.

 “Dalian proved itself to be not technically capable of delivering the goods it was contracted to manufacture. Respondents, for one reason or another, turned a blind eye on Dalian’s technical deficiencies,” the complaint read.