MANILA – The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered an investigation on top executives of the Department of Transportation and Communications for allegedly entering into an anomalous maintenance contract for the Metro Rail Transit 3.
It said nearly two dozen people are being investigated and among them were DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, former MRT General Manager Al Vitangcol III, DOTC Bids and Awards Committee members – Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla, Undersecretary Rene Limcaoco, Undersecretary Rafael Antonio Santos and Assistant Secretary Ildefonso Patdu, Assistant Secretary Dante Lantin, and LRTA Administrator Honorito Chaneco; members of the Negotiating Team -Misael Narca, Engr. Joel Magbanua, Arnel Manresa, Natividad Sansolis, Engr. Gina Rodriguez, Eugene Cecilio, Engr. Raphael Lavides, Atty. Geronimo Quintos; and representatives from the joint venture of the Philippine Trans Rail Management and Services Corporation- Comm Builders and Technology Philippines Corporation 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 Sections 3(e) and 3(h) of R.A. No. 3019, and violation of Section 65(c)(1) of Republic Act No. 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act).
Aside from the criminal charges, the Ombudsman said 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.
The complaint filed by the Field Investigation Office alleges that a maintenance agreement for the trains was entered into in December 1997 between the MRT Corporation 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 until October 2012.
Documents gathered by Ombudsman investigators showed that 15 days prior to the expiration of the last extension, the BAC adopted a resolution undertaking the procurement of an interim maintenance provider for six months and to negotiate its terms and conditions.
In October 2012, the Negotiating Team recommended that the project be awarded to PH Trams – CB&T joint venture in the amount of US$1.15 million monthly. And on October 20, 2012, the project was awarded to PH Trams – CB&T without public bidding.
The field investigators also 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 06 August 2012 with a paid-up capital of only P625,000.
National Statistics Office records also established that Vintangcol is related by affinity to PH Trams incorporator Arturo Soriano, being 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.
It will be recalled that 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 P3.76 billion MRT3 Capacity Expansion Project, wherein Inekon Group CEO and Chairman Josef Husek and Czech Ambassador Joseph Rychtar allege that Vitangcol and De Vera attempted to extort money in exchange for the service and maintenance contract.
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