Ex-MRT general manager Vitangcol faces trial for $30-M extort try

Al Vitangcol. LYN RILLON/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

State prosecutors have formally charged former Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) General Manager Al Vitangcol with an extortion attempt on a Czech firm.

Vitangcol and his purported envoy, businessman Wilson de Vera, face two counts of violation of Section 3(b) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. The cases were raffled on Friday to the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division.

The first charge sheet accused Vitangcol of demanding $30 million, later reduced to $2.5 million, from representatives of INEKON Group, a.s.

This was supposedly in exchange for bagging the contracts for the supply of Light Rail Vehicles under Lot 1 of the MRT-3 Capacity Expansion Project.

The second charge accused Vitangcol of pressuring INEKON to enter into a 60-40 sharing agreement with the group of De Vera, an executive of Philippine Trans Rail Management and Services Corp. (Ph Trams).

READ: Ex-MRT chief Vitangcol indicted for $30M extort try

Former Czech Ambassador Josef Rychtar and INEKON board chairman Josef Husek are among the prosecution’s witnesses.

Prosecutors recommended that bail be fixed at P60,000 each for Vitangcol and De Vera. CDG/rga