‘Ex-Czech envoy’s testimony in MRT case not needed’

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has found no need to hear the testimony of former Czech ambassador Josef Rychtar in connection with the alleged anomalous awarding of the multimillion-peso contract for the maintenance of Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 in 2012.

“In these cases, the Court finds that the prosecution failed to establish the need to present Ambassador Rychtar via video conferencing,” the Sandiganbayan Third Division said in its resolution promulgated on Aug. 1.

The Third Division of the anti-graft court earlier allowed the Office of the Ombudsman’s prosecution team to present Rychtar as among its witnesses in the cases it filed against former MRT-3 general manager Al Vitangcol III and five incorporators of the maintenance provider PH Trams.

The Third Division relaxed the rules and allowed Rychtar to testify even when his name was not included in the prosecution’s final list of witnesses earlier approved by the court through a pre-trial order.

Under the Rules of Court, only the documents and witnesses included in the pre-trial order list shall be presented during the trial proper of the case.

The prosecution, however, failed to present him on the scheduled dates of his testimony in April and instead, filed an appeal asking the court to allow him to testify through video conferencing.

The prosecution said Rychtar’s work as the current ambassador to Chile renders him incapable to personally testify in the Philippines.

The prosecution maintained that Rychtar’s testimony is vital to the case as he supposedly had personal knowledge of the alleged extortion attempt by Vitangcol and PH Trams incorporators on Czech company Inekon Group in exchange for the awarding of contracts for MRT-3 maintenance and supply of train coaches.