Transportation dept mulls plunder raps against indicted officials over MRT-3 anomaly
THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) will consult with the Office of the Solicitor General as it plans to file plunder cases against the indicted officials in the anomalous transaction involving the maintenance of the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3).
“The Resolution from the Office of the Ombudsman, which indicts former transport officials and other concerned individuals for graft over the P4.2-Billion MRT-3 maintenance contract, has reached the Department of DOTr via news reports,” Reinier Paul Yebra, undersecretary for legal affairs and procurement said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Upon receipt of an official copy of the Resolution, the DOTr will consult with the Office of the Solicitor General as it intends to pursue plunder charges against the indicted personalities, as well as include in the case other officials and personalities exculpated from the Resolution, in efforts to promote accountability and transparency,” Yebra said.
The Ombudsman indicted former Transportation secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and other former undersecretaries Edwin Lopez, Rene Limcaoco, and Catherine Jennifer Francis Gonzales; former MRT-3 General Manager Roman Buenafe, former Assistant Secretary Camille Alcaraz, Ofelia Astrera (former vice chairperson of the MRT-3 bids and awards committee), Charissa Eloisa Julia Opulencia, Oscar Bongon, and Jose Rodante Sabayle.
Also on the list were Eldonn Ferdinand Uy, then from Edison Development and Construction; Elizabeth Velasco, then from Tramat Mercantile Incorporated; Belinda Tan, then from TMI Corporation, Inc.; Brian Velasco, then from Castan Corporation; and Antonio Borromeo, Jun Ho Hwang, and Elpidio Uy who were then from Busan Universal Rail, Inc. (BURI) The Ombudsman indicted former transportation secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and other former undersecretaries Edwin Lopez, Rene Limcaoco, and Catherine Jennifer Francis Gonzales; former MRT-3 General Manager Roman Buenafe, former Assistant Secretary Camille Alcaraz, Ofelia Astrera (former vice chairperson of the MRT-3 bids and awards committee), Charissa Eloisa Julia Opulencia, Oscar Bongon, and Jose Rodante Sabayle.
Eldonn Ferdinand Uy, then from Edison Development and Construction; Elizabeth Velasco, then from Tramat Mercantile Incorporated; Belinda Tan, then from TMI Corporation, Inc.; Brian Velasco, then from Castan Corporation; and Antonio Borromeo, Jun Ho Hwang, and Elpidio Uy who were then from Busan Universal Rail, Inc. (BURI), with whom the government forged a contract to maintain the MRT-3.
“According to a press release posted on the official website of the Office of the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman’s special panel of investigators found that “extended unwarranted benefits, advantage and preference” were given to Busan Universal Rail Inc. of Busan Joint Venture (Busan JV) despite it being “ineligible” and “unqualified” as it was “not technically, legally and financially capable to undertake the MRT3 long-term maintenance contract,” Yebra said.
“We assure the public that the DOTr will get to the bottom of these anomalous contracts, and go after the people who sacrificed the welfare of MRT-3 riders in the name of personal interests,” he added. REICELENE JOY N. IGNACIO
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