Palace won’t declare Czech envoy ‘unwelcome’ over extortion allegations
MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Monday said it would not go to the extent of declaring the Czech ambassador to the Philippines an “unwelcome person” over his allegations of an extortion attempt in a Metro Rail Transit (MRT) project.
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda made the assurance amid a flurry of government investigations into the scandal.
Lacierda said the government would not declare as “persona non grata” Czech Republic Ambassador to the Philippines Josef Rychtar, who alleged that MRT general manager Al Vitangcol III tried to extort $30 million from the Inekon Group of the Czech Republic in the contract for additional MRT coaches.
“We are not going so far as to declare him persona non grata. I think that is not in the horizon of the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) to do so,” Lacierda said at a televised press briefing.
“There is an investigation process going on, so we will just wait for that,” he added.
Vitangcol’s alleged envoy to Inekon, Wilson De Vera, supposedly asked Inekon on behalf of Vitangcol on July 10, 2012, to pay $30 million to win the bidding for the contract. De Vera is a member of President Benigno Aquino III’s Liberal Party.
Rychtar and Inekon CEO Josef Husak supposedly refused, upsetting Vitangcol and De Vera, and Inekon found itself on the blacklist.
The Department of Transportation and Communications has cleared Vitangcol, who has denied the allegations.
Rychtar revived the allegations in a recent media interview, saying that Vitangcol was “protected” from the charges.
The issue involving the President’s allies has raised questions on the administration’s platform of good governance.
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