Aquino admin’s ‘incompetence, corruption’ blamed for MRT woes

- Malacañang yesterday slammed Vice President Leni Robredo for making it appear that the former Cabinet officials under Aquino administration were a “scapegoat” to deflect blame for the sorry state of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT)-Line 3.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said it was “unfortunate” that Robredo accused the Duterte administration of making a concerted effort to conceal its shortcomings amid glitches and problems plaguing the MRT-3.

Roque stressed that former officials of the previous administration were charged of plunder because of their “incompetence and corruption” that resulted in the worsening condition of the rail transit system.

“We find the Vice President’s remarks unfortunate. With all due respect to Vice President Robredo, the MRT-3 issue is not about covering up shortcomings,” the presidential spokesman said in a statement.

“The filing of the plunder complaint against officials of the previous administration was to make them accountable... We cannot simply sweep the sins of incompetence and corruption under the rug with the harsh reality of half a million daily suffering riding public staring us in the face,” he added.

At least nine members of

Aquino Cabinet, including former Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, are facing a plunder complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman over the purported anomalous P3.8-billion maintenance contract with Busan Universal Railways Inc. (Buri).

Other former secretaries charged were Manuel Roxas II (Local Government), Florencio Abad (Budget), Cesar Purisima (Finance), Jericho Petilla (Energy), Mario Montejo (Science and Technology), Voltaire Gazmin (Defense), Rogelio Singson (Public Works), and Arsenio Balisacan (National Economic and Development Authority).

Robredo, in an interview on Thursday, November 3, told the Duterte government that the filing of cases against Abaya and eight other former Cabinet officials should be based on proper evidence, and not because it merely wants to blame others for MRT woes.

“It’s difficult to accuse anyone but if someone is liable, it is appropriate to file a case. We intend to file a case that is based on a correct data. It (Filing a case) should not be done to look for a scapegoat for something that has not not be done [by the accused],” she said. SunStar Philippines