Mar snubbed reminder on expiring maintenance deal, says ex-MRT GM

MANILA, Philippines — Former Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas allegedly did not respond to a recommendation to prepare for the bidding of the maintenance contract of the Metro Rail Transit-3 before the original contract expired, a former general manager of the train system told a Senate panel.

Sen. Grace Poe, the chairperson of the Senate public services committee looking into the issues hounding the train line, said that Al Vitangcol, a former general manager of MRT-3, told the panel that he sent Roxas a letter informing him of the need to prepare to bid out the system’s maintenance contract as the agreement with Sumitomo was already about to end.

Poe, who together with Roxas lost the presidential race to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte last year, said that she was flustered at why Roxas apparently ignored the supposed recommendation. Roxas has yet to air his side on the issue.

“Isa pa yang natuklasan natin ngayon—na nagpadala si Al Vitangcol ng liham kay Secretary Roxas na sabi ay dapat ayusin na natin ang bidding para dito sa maintenance provider kasi matatapos na yung kontrata ng Sumitomo o tapos na, at hindi ito inaksyunan. Hindi man lamang sumagot na oo o hindi at kung oo man o hindi, bakit?” Poe told reporters.

Vitangcol faces extortion charge

Vitangcol, together with Wilson De Vera, a director of the former MRT maintenance provider PH Trams, is accused of trying to extort some $30 million from Inekon Group in exchange for awarding it the contract the supply the train coaches of the train line as part of the P3.8 -billion expansion project during the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III.

The alleged extortion attempt happened on July 9 and 10, 2012 and was reported by Czech Ambassador to the Philippines Josef Rychtar. Vitangcol and De Vera both denied the allegations. The incident supposedly happened in the house of Rychtar.

Poe said that the investigation had so far uncovered that PH Trams allegedly used its connections to the erstwhile ruling Liberal Party to bag the billion-peso MRT maintenance contract.

During the hearing, Roehl Bacar, president of CB&T, said that they were approached by PH Trams to bid for the contract. PH Trams and CB&T bagged the maintenance agreement for six months following the expiration of the Sumitomo contract in October 2012.

Bacar said that they were confident that they would win the agreement because the “personalities” of PH Trams bragged about their connections to the Liberal Party.

Poe said that the negotiations started when Roxas was still Transportation secretary and were completed under former Tranportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, who admitted in a previous hearing that he signed the contract in 2012 without fully knowing its details.

Abaya said during the May 15 hearing of the panel that he signed the contract with PH Trams despite knowing only limited information on its background and its small paid-up capital of only P625,000.

Poe said that in many instances that name of Marlo Dela Cruz kept on appearing in the “problematic” maintenance contracts from the past to the present.

“Maintenance providers brokered by Mr. Marlo dela Cruz were able to bag contracts even when the corporations never delivered their end of the bargain. In fact, Mr. Marlo Dela Cruz signed a waiver releasing CB&T of their liability for not having been able to purchase the spare parts, so CB&T had to take over that responsibility,” Poe said.

Poe: Roxas must face panel

Although no formal invitation will be sent yet, Poe said that Roxas should appear before the Senate panel to explain his side and why he allowed the Sumitomo contract to lapse.

“Sa ngayon, sa tingin ko dapat na siyang ipatawag. Para sa atin, pagkakataon niya para ma-eksplika ang kanyang sarili dahil sinabi ni Al Vitangcol na nagpadala ng liham at mayroon syang pruweba, dokumento na napadala kay Secretary Mar Roxas. So gusto nating malaman kay Secretary Roxas bakit niya hinayaan na mag-lapse ang contract, halimbawa ng Sumitomo…noong siya ay nakaupo at iniwan nya kay Secretary Abaya na pumirma ng kasunduan; na tatlong araw palang si Secretary Abaya doon ay pinirmahan na niya itong kontrata na ito,” she said.