Czech envoy asked anew to cooperate in probe of MRT 3 scandal

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang reiterated yesterday its call for the Czech ambassador to cooperate in the investigation of an alleged $30-million shakedown in connection with the Metro Rail Transit (MRT 3) expansion project.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte cited “conflicting” versions of the alleged extortion attempt on Czech railway firm Inekon Group in July 2012.

Czech Ambassador Joseph Rychtar discussed his complaint last Monday with the Department of Foreign Affairs. The DFA declined to give details, saying only that Rychtar had “accepted the invitation” of the department to discuss the issue.

Rychtar later attended the joint opening of the 16th Congress, where President Aquino assured the public in his State of the Nation Address that the MRT 3 and other allegations of corruption under his watch were being investigated.

A recent report, citing unnamed sources, said Rychtar was asked by the DFA to clam up on the issue pending completion of the probe.

MRT chief Al Vitangcol III has gone on leave and has been temporarily replaced by administrator Honorito Chaneco of the Light Rail Transit Authority.

Valte said yesterday that Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) “would be most open to hearing the side of or, at least, the version of the Czech ambassador in the investigation.”

She said there are “many versions” of the story that are being attributed to the envoy.

“Apparently, he has spoken to media about it. But now we’d like to ask for his cooperation, to give the information that is in his hands to the investigating team from DOTC, so that there are no conflicting stories,” Valte said.

She noted that one version points to three DOTC undersecretaries allegedly involved in the shakedown, while another version is that only Vitangcol was involved.

“The story has to be clarified,” Valte said.

She said it is the prerogative of Congress to conduct its own probe in aid of legislation on the issue, as one party-list lawmaker has suggested.

Abaya said that in his meetings with the envoy, Rychtar had identified Vitangcol as the one involved in the alleged shakedown in exchange for getting the contract to supply 48 new trains for the MRT expansion. The $30 million, it was alleged, was later reduced to $2.5 million.

When Inekon refused, the company was blacklisted, Rychtar complained. The DOTC denied this and said a bidding was held recently in which the Czechs refused to participate.

A Chinese company is the lone entity that pre-qualified for the bid. The government is reviewing the bidding process amid speculative reports that the rules were designed to favor certain bidders. No European firm participated in the bidding.

Another Czech company supplied the trains for the MRT 3. The Czechs had been proposing a government-to-government deal for the supply contract since 2010.

Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II, who headed the DOTC in July 2012, denied blacklisting Inekon and asked the Office of the Ombudsman to assist in the probe.

Roxas said Rychtar paid him a courtesy call at the DOTC in December 2011. It was their only meeting, Roxas said.

Rychtar sent a letter to President Aquino in April after news reports citing unnamed sources claimed presidential sister Ballsy and her husband Eldon Cruz were the ones who had demanded $30 million from Inekon as facilitation fee for the MRT deal.

In his letter, Rychtar cleared Ballsy and her husband and stressed that government-to-government deals did not allow for commissions.