Ex-Transport chief, 16 others face graft over MRT-3 maintenance contract
THE Office of the Ombudsman has found basis to charge former Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and 16 others with graft before the Sandiganbayan over the alleged anomalous Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) maintenance contract.
The others were former Transportation Undersecretaries Edwin Lopez, Rene Limcaoco (then-head of the negotiating team), and Catherine Jennifer Francis Gonzales (then-vice head of the negotiating team); 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) were among the 16 individuals.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr), MRT-3, and Busan JV entered into the contract on January 7, 2016.
According to a statement issued on Monday, Ombudsman investigators found that respondents allegedly “extended unwarranted benefits, advantage and preference to the contractor when it awarded the project to” Busan Joint Venture, which was allegedly not technically, legally and financially capable to undertake the deal.
The joint venture was composed of Edison Development and Construction, Tramat Mercantile Incorporated, TMI Corporation, Inc., Castan Corporation, and BURI.
The respondents can still ask the Ombudsman to reconsider its ruling.
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