Senator Grace Poe and Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilo Abaya. FILE PHOTOS
SENATOR Grace Poe justified on Thursday a draft subcommittee report against Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya over the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) mess, saying “it does not take an expert to analyze the failures of management.”
Poe said the 45-page draft report of the Senate subcommittee on public services, which she chairs, was founded on transcripts of records and documents submitted to the body; testimonies and dossiers from government agencies including the Department of Transportation and Communications, Department of Justice, National Economic Development Authority, Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board, private sector, stakeholders and transport advocates; people’s organizations, labor groups, student communities and private citizens like Dinna Dayao.
“The subcommittee utilized all available data. All factors are considered from books to studies and reports, including observing demeanors and resource persons’ latitude of knowledge on a given mandate, responsibility and issue,” she said in a statement.
In the case of Abaya, Poe said, “the transcript, the documents submitted, his reply to questions and actions during the hearings, his excuses to be absent, demeanor and knowledge of the workings of his department, and the totality of his actions on transport issues and MRT3, indicate badges of negligence and failure.”
“It does not take an expert to analyze the failures of management. Just ask the passengers who line up for hours and experience the stalling trains, the out-of-order elevators and escalators, the broken aircon units, among others,” she said.
“Hindi lamang boses ng mga namumuno ang aming dininig, ngunit higit sa lahat, binigyan namin ng pansin ang hinaing at kahirapang dinaranas ng ating mga mananakay,” the senator added.
The draft report of the subcommittee recommended , among others, the filing of appropriate charges against Abaya and other transport officials involved.
“This report of the subcommittee should be submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman, the Department of Justice and the Civil Service Commission for appropriate actions and must be considered as initial leads as there are strong indications of violations of Republic Act No. 3019, otherwise known as “the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” it said.
READ: Poe’s panel recommends charges vs Abaya for MRT mess
Poe submitted the draft report to Senator Serge Osmeña III as chairman of the Senate committee on public services.
Asked if he agreed with the findings, Osmeña said: “Yes it’s, quite accurate, based on what I know and what I’ve read from the transcript. Very accurate po yun.”
“She was able to get the gist of the problem. Pinapaimbestiga niya sa DOJ. Alam mo, the Ombudsman and the DOJ, they’re the ones who will be able to establish if there’s a prima facie case, if there’s what lawyers call a probable cause to file a case for graft,” he added in an interview.