Malacañang, in a statement, said the President’s decision stemmed from "legal, financial and technical" issues, and not from speculations that one of the bidders was connected with Guia Gomez, with whom he has a son.
Press Undersecretary Michael Toledo said the President will ask Justice Secretary Artemio Tuquero to review the VRIS contract.
Mr. Estrada arrived at his decision after meeting with Demetriou at the Palace yesterday afternoon.
Jose Concepcion, chairman of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), hailed Deme-triou for junking the "expensive" VRIS project. "The amount saved is equal to the cost of one-fourth of the MRT line," he said.