Palace welcomes ‘tell all’ on MRT

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang welcomed yesterday the statement of Czech Ambassador Josef Rychtar that he is willing to face investigation regarding his accusations against a ranking transportation official, who allegedly tried to extort $30 million from Czech firm Inekon Group.

“That’s a good development,” de-puty presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in light of Transportation  Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya’s admission that the agency does not have power to issue a subpoena.

Valte said this is a positive development on Rychtar’s allegations against Metro Rail Transit (MRT) general manager Al Vitangcol, who was cleared of administrative liability by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), as the envoy did not file a complaint.

She said this is the reason why the DOTC, the mother unit of MRT, is waiting for the result of a probe conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation on the alleged $30-million extortion attempt on the Inekon Group.

Valte lauded Rychtar’s promise to waive his diplomatic immunity after he vowed to reveal everything he knows about the scuttled contract.

“From what I understand, he has agreed to waive it. The person who is entitled to the immunity is the one who has to waive it. I don’t know how he intends to go about that,” Valte told journalists during a briefing.

On Monday, Malacañang ruled out the possibility of declaring Rychtar persona non grata, as the tour of duty of the ambassador is about to end.

“I think that is not in the horizon of DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) to do so. There is an ongoing investigation, we’ll just wait for that,” said Edwin Lacierda, presidential spokesman.

Stop the harassment

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares yesterday told the Aquino administration to stop the alleged harassment of Rychtar to apparently cover up the alleged MRT 3 scandal.

Colmenares scored the ruling Liberal Party (LP) for allegedly trying to obscure the issue and linking it to the 2016 elections.

“We did not expect the Liberal Party to employ the usual defense used by politicians charged with corruption and link it to the 2016 elections,” Colmenares said.

He said the LP is accusing the Czech ambassador of being part of a scheme to harass the ruling party in the 2016 polls.

“This is a serious allegation that will antagonize the international community. We challenge those who said this to file charges against Rychtar if they have evidence that he is interfering with our local politics, which is illegal under the Omnibus Election Code,” he said.

The lawmaker said Bayan Muna does not care if those involved in the issue are members of the LP, Lakas-NUCD, Nacionalista Party or NUP, noting that as long as corruption exists, the party-list will expose and oppose it.

“When we criticized Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for corruption, it was not an attack against Lakas as her minions claimed. When we opposed the pork barrel, we did not care if the administration or the opposition is involved,” Colmenares said.

Libel case vs Rychtar

Meanwhile, businessman Wilson de Vera said he is preparing to file libel charges against Rychtar for accusing him of trying to extort $30 million from Inekon Group on behalf of Vitangcol.

De Vera told The STAR that his lawyers in the US are preparing the documents for the filing of charges against Rychtar, as he described the envoy’s statements against him as malicious lies.

“We will file the case so he (Rychtar) will understand what he is saying against me,” De Vera said.

He said they would also file a complaint before the United Nations, as Rychtar is a member of the diplomatic corps.

The businessman said he does not want his multimillion-dollar projects to be derailed as a result of Rychtar’s allegation.

He said he would file a complaint before the diplomatic office “for them to know what he (Rychtar) is doing.”

De Vera challenged Rychtar and the officials of the Inekon Group to take a polygraph test to see who is telling the truth.

In an affidavit he executed last year before the Philippine Consulate in California, De Vera said he initially opted to keep quiet regarding the MRT3 scandal.

He said he decided to come out to condemn what he described as a malicious and libelous allegation against him.

He said his presence in the two meetings with the Czech ambassador and representatives of Inekon was meant to be a potential business opportunity for his company, PH TRAMS, a rail maintenance firm.

He said he was invited to the meetings because one of PH TRAMS’ directors,  Manolo Maralit, was a friend of Rychtar. – With Edith Regalado, Eva Visperas