Manila Times/Manila

Metro Rail Transit (MRT) general manager Al Vitangcol went on leave as the government investigates allegations that he and other officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) attempted to extort $30mn from a Czech company.

Secretary Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya yesterday said that they have started investigating the alleged shakedown even if no formal complaint had been filed against Vitangcol and the other officials.

“Yes, GM (general manager Al) Vitangcol was named by the ambassador (Czech ambassador Josef Rychtar). We are investigating the whole issue despite not receiving any formal complaint or receiving any evidence to substantiate it,” Abaya told reporters.

Abaya confirmed that Vitangcol filed for a leave of absence.

At the same time, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) gave assurances that the allegations of the Czech ambassador will be fully investigated.

Also yesterday, Malacanang pledged that the issue will not be swept under the rug.

Rychtar went to the DFA office on Monday after he was summoned to shed light on his allegations.

“All I can tell you is the matter is now being looked into by concerned agencies,” Raul Hernandez, Foreign Affairs spokesman said. He did not say which agencies are investigating the allegations.

The ambassador claimed that some MRT officials, including Vitangcol, demanded $30mn from Czech company Inekon for it to win the contract to provide several coaches for the modernisation of the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT 3) line. Rychtar claimed that he met Vitangcol and his men twice—in Makati and Quezon cities—but the MRT head denied it. The controversy, which dragged the president’s sister Ballsy Aquino-Cruz and her husband Eldon, was first published by Manila Times in a three-part series written by the paper’s chairman emeritus Dr Dante A Ang.

However, in a letter to President Benigno Aquino, Rychtar said the couple was not involved in the extortion attempt.

The ambassador claimed that Inekon was blacklisted by the DOTC, but this was denied by the Palace and Abaya. However, over the past three years, the Czech government had sent more than 10 letters to the Transportation department in support of Inekon’s proposal but got no answer.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr said the government will investigate anomalies because “it is not the president’s character to sweep things under the rug.”

“He has the courage to face issues squarely,” Coloma added. Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said Aquino wanted the extortion attempt thoroughly investigated.

“You heard him. He will look into these alleged irregularities but he will not act in haste. He will await the findings of the agencies he has tasked to investigate these issues,” he said.

“Once the fact finding is done and the recommendations of the investigative bodies are presented to him, then that’s when you can expect resolute action from him,” Abad added.

In his Monday’s speech, the president asked accusers of wrongdoings to submit evidence to prove their allegations. On July 19, the DOTC said that it has initiated an investigation into Rychtar’s allegations. Abaya said he will also forward documents to the Office of the Ombudsman so that it can initiate its own probe.

MRT3 is Metro Manila’s third rapid transit line. It forms part of the Manila Light Transit System line 1 and Manila Light Rail Transit System Line 2.

Data from Metro Rail Transit Authority (MRTA) showed that 54.81mn commuters took the MRT3 from January to April 2012, or 8.79% more than the 50.38mn in the same period of 2011. This translates to an average daily usage of 456,755 in 2012, higher than the services capacity of 350,000 a day. MRTA earned P672.44mn in the first four months of 2012, up from P621.23mn in the same period of 2011.

Abad also said the government had reduced the subsidy for the MRT by over a billion pesos. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) submitted its proposed P2.268 budget for 2014 before the House of Representatives yesterday.