Vitangcol eyes party-list seat

MANILA, Philippines - He has been accused of a $30-million extortion attempt and of awarding a multimillion-dollar Metro Rail Transit (MRT) deal to a group whose officials include his uncle-in-law and a fund raiser of the ruling Liberal Party (LP).

But with the cases unresolved and in the absence of an order permanently barring him from public office, former MRT general manager Al Vitangcol is seeking to enter Congress through the party-list.

Based on the list of nominees submitted by the party-list groups before the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Vitangcol is the leading nominee of the Direct Vendors, Agents, Networking Circles and Entrepreneurs (Advance) Inc., which is looking at joining the May 2016 elections.

Vitangcol, for his part, said Advance was formed in 2010 when he became an officer of the group before joining government service.

“It was started way back in 2010. Actually we just celebrated our fifth anniversary last September 2015. It has been there even before I joined public service,” he said.

Vitangcol admitted his involvement in alleged irregularities at the MRT will be a liability to his party-list group as it campaigns for a Congress seat.

Vitangcol refused to comment further on the case, citing sub judice.

Last July, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said there was probable cause to indict Vitangcol and five incorporators of Philippine Trans Rail Management and Services Corp. (PH Trams) for graft and violation of the Government Procurement Reform Act arising from the MRT-3 interim maintenance contract.

Vitangcol has filed a motion for reconsideration appealing the Office of the Ombudsman decision, which is yet to be resolved.

He said that if there was indeed irregularity in the maintenance contract, Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Jose Perpetuo Lotilla should also be held liable.

However, Vitangcol said he is “very confident” of a favorable decision, maintaining his innocence of any irregularity committed during his service in the MRT.

As Advance party-list representative, Vitangcol said he would seek to push for legislation to regulate the networking or the multi-level marketing industry.

“One of the main advocacies of Advance is to professionalize and to regulate the multi-level marketing industry. Because very recently, there were problems there, there were fake networking firms,” he said.

Lawyer Harry Roque, on the other hand, slid down from his original plan to run for senator to become a nominee of party-list group Kabalikat ng Mamamayan.

Roque said he and his family decided two months ago not to pursue his senatorial bid with the consent of Vice President Jejomar Binay, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) standard bearer.

He added he would be more effective crafting laws at the House of Representatives. –Rainier Allan Ronda, Michael Punongbayan