Ebdane, Vitangcol indicted for graft

EBDANE ROBERT GONZAGA/INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on Friday indicted former Metro Rail Transit (MRT) General Manager Al Vitangcol III for graft over an anomalous maintenance contract for MRT 3 (Edsa line) in 2012, and Zambales Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. for graft and usurpation of official functions, for illegally issuing small-scale mining permits to the detriment of a mining operator.

Officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) led by Secretary Joseph Abaya were, however, spared since the anomalous contract was handled by the MRT management, according to Assistant Ombudsman Asryman Rafanan.

Morales said Vitangcol used his authority to forego public bidding in awarding a maintenance contract worth $1.5 million a month to a firm whose incorporators included a relative of his wife.

Also facing graft charges are Philippine Trans Rail Management and Services Corp. (PH Trams) incorporators Wilson de Vera, Marlo dela Cruz, Manolo Maralit, Federico Remo and Vitangcol’s uncle-in-law Arturo Soriano, who is currently the provincial accountant of Pangasinan province.

The MRT management entered into an interim maintenance contract with PH Trams in a joint venture with Comm Builders and Technology (CB&T) in October 2012, after deciding not to renew its contract with original maintenance provider, Sumitomo Corp.

No public bidding

But the bids and awards committee (BAC) did not undertake any public bidding, choosing instead to negotiate terms with an interim maintenance provider for six months.

The negotiating team then recommended that the project be awarded to PH Trams-CB&T for $1.15 million monthly. Awarded on Oct. 20, 2012, the contract was renewed three times until Sept. 4, 2013.

Morales said Vitangcol used his power and position as MRT general manager, head of the negotiating team, and BAC member “all in one to dictate” who will be invited for the negotiations on the maintenance contract.

He also “intentionally hid his (affinitive) relationship with Soriano which would have automatically disqualified PH Trams,” the Ombudsman said.

Although Soriano, Vitangcol’s uncle-in-law, claimed that he had divested from PH Trams on Sept. 10, 2012, the Ombudsman found that his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth showed that he was still a stockholder in November 2012.

Ebdane, who was former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s police chief and later, public works secretary, was accused of causing Consolidated Mines Inc. (CMI) to lose P211 million worth of chromite fines from Coto Mines in 2011.

Aside from Ebdane, the Ombudsman also indicted Zambales provincial mining regulatory board (PMRB) member Romelino Gojo and Geoking Asia Mining Corp. representatives Weng Chen, Camilo Esico and three others for theft of minerals under the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.

Morales upheld the complaint filed by CMI which claimed to have been operating the Coto Mines for more than five decades.

According to CMI’s complaint, Gojo and a group of police officers headed by provincial director Francisco Santiago Jr. forcibly entered the mine premises on Oct. 30, 2011, invoking a small-scale mining permit (SSMP) and other permits signed by Ebdane in favor of Geoking Asia.

The next day, Geoking’s Chen and a group of Chinese nationals escorted by policemen again entered the mine premises and hauled off 12 trucks of chromite fines in November 2011, CMI said.

The Ombudsman said Ebdane usurped the functions of the PMRB when he issued the SSMP, and that Gojo cannot implement such permit.

The police officers were, however, not indicted because they were under orders from the Masinloc mayor to dismantle CMI’s checkpoints, and their alleged participation in hauling the chromite fines was not corroborated, the Ombudsman said.

In a statement, Ebdane disputed the Ombudsman’s findings, saying he had acted lawfully and that he will contest his indictment.

Al Vitangcol III INQUIRER PHOTOS/LYN RILLON

CMI had already questioned the SSMP and lost the case in the Regional Trial Court of Iba, he added.

“As governor of the province of Zambales, I take full responsibility for my actions but I strongly believe that the conclusions reached in the Ombudsman resolution are mistaken. I will then take the appropriate remedy afforded to me by law,” Ebdane’s statement read.

Vitangcol was relieved from his post in May 2014 after a Czech diplomat accused him and De Vera of trying to extort $30 million from Inekon Group in exchange for a P3.7-billion contract to supply 48 coaches for the MRT 3 expansion.

Vitangcol, De Vera and the other PH Trams incorporators will be charged with violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Sections 3e and 3h) and the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The Ombudsman said PH Trams incorporators will also be charged with executing a false affidavit which claimed that none of them are related by affinity to any member of the MRT procurement teams.