(UPDATE 4 – 5:37 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DoTr) on Monday filed graft charges against its former chief Joseph Emilio Abaya, other ex-officials of the agency, and executives of Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI)
In its 29-page complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, the DoTr, represented by Undersecretary for Legal Affairs and Procurement Reinier Paul Yebra, alleged that Abaya and other former department executives’ awarding of MRT-3’s P3.81-billion maintenance contract to a South Korean-Filipino joint venture led Busan Transportation Commission was “anomalous” because it formed BURI, another “special purpose” entity to implement the deal with the government.
It said the allegedly anomalous deal violated Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
“We want to know the truth. We find it anomalous that the project was awarded to Busan JV, but the one receiving payments and doing MRT-3 maintenance works is BURI, a totally different entity,” Yebra said.
Yebra explained that the notice of award was issued to Busan JV on December 23, 2015. However, “interestingly and disturbingly,” on the same day, former DOTr Assistant Secretary for Procurement and Bids and Awards Committee Chairman Camille Alcaraz requested the Securities and Exchange Commission to facilitate the registration of a special purpose company consisting of the members of the Busan joint venture for the contract award of the project. BURI was later on incorporated on January 4, 2016.
“It shows that the respondents conspired and confederated with one another to enter into a contract that is grossly disadvantageous to the government,” Yebra said.
“At the end of the day, our concern goes to our commuters. We can hear and feel their pleas. That is why the DOTr, through the leadership of Secretary Tugade, will do everything to serve the public with the truth and justice that they deserve,” he added.
The more than 30 respondents include DoTr’s former undersecretary for operations Edwin Lopez; former undersecretary for planning and infrastructure projects Rene Limcaoco; former undersecretary Catherine Jennifer Francis Gonzales, overall head of the Bidding and Awards Committee secretariat; former MRT-3 general manager Roman Buenafe; and former assistant secretary for procurement Alcaraz.
HIGH TIME FOR AX TO FALL WHERE IT SHOULD – POE
Sen. Grace Poe, whose Committee on Public Services has held hearings on the MRT’s problems, welcomed the filing of the charges. “It is high time that the ax falls where it should. The complaint filed against former Secretary Abaya and other officials over the P3.81-billion MRT maintenance contract rests on solid grounds. The Senate investigation alone has indubitably proved that the award to BURI was anomalous,” Poe said in a statement.
The senator said she expected the Ombudsman to find probable cause and file the appropriate charges with the Sandiganbayan against the culprits soon. This, she added, “should deliver a stern warning and reminder that public officials past and present will have to be made accountable for their misfeasance and malfeasance in office in due time.”
Referring to the current imbroglio between DOTr and BURI, whose contract the DOTr wants revoked, Poe said BURI “has shown its incompetence to handle a mammoth deal by having a record of poor safety checks, thus risking the lives of hundreds of thousands of MRT commuters every day and deceiving the government and the public in trying to supply incompatible and unreliable parts to the MRT.”
This should not have happened, Poe pointed out, “if Secretary Abaya and his men exercised due diligence in checking whether or not BURI was capable of handling such a huge responsibility and in ensuring the safety of the public. These deplorable acts should therefore not be countenanced nor tolerated.”
The Transportation officials’ actions during Abaya’s watch “have cost time away from Filipino families, who rely on the MRT. I do not know how these people who are involved are able to sleep at night knowing that many Filipinos have to wake up 2 to 3 hours earlier to line up at the MRT, with the sun glaring above their heads, just to suffer from train breakdowns during their commute.”
The case, said Poe, “is another opportunity for the Ombudsman to show its independence and resolve to fight corruption in all levels, regardless of political affiliations, past and present. The Ombudsman should also investigate those involved in the awarding of the contract if they were working at the behest of other personalities, as what we heard during the course of our Senate hearings.”
NOTICE OF TERMINATION
Last Friday, the DoTr announced that it had issued a notice of termination to BURI amid frequent breakdowns in the railway system.
The notice from DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade issued on October 17 is the initial step towards ending the MRT maintenance deal with BURI, Yebra said.
“The DOTr has issued a notice of termination of its MRT-3 contract to BURI due to various reasons: poor performance; failure to put in service and ensure the availability of contractually obligated number of trains and failure to put in operation reliable and efficient trains,” he added.
Among other reasons were failure to implement a feasible procurement plan for spare parts, which impeded its ability to conduct immediate repairs on defective trains and other facilities of the MRT-3 system; and failure to comply with the requirements of a complete and up to date Computerized Maintenance Management System.
BURI was given seven days upon receipt of the notice to submit its position on why the maintenance contract should not be terminated. The DOTr will then issue an order whether or not to terminate the contract within 10 days upon receipt of BURI’s response.
