Poe to Roxas: Start reviewing for MRT hearing

Former Interior and Transportation Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II should start reviewing as he would likely be called to attend a hearing on the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3) mess when the Senate resumes session in July.

Senator Grace Poe hinted that Roxas might be summoned to appear in the next Senate committee on public services, which Poe chairs, for allegedly allowing anomalous deals with questionable companies to push through during his tenure as former head of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

“We are not judging him yet but based on the facts, Roxas didn’t act immediately on renewing the contract for Sumitomo or allotting enough time so that legitimate bidders with a track record could’ve participated. We hastily gave it to a company that is untested,” Poe said during a Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum in Malate, Manila.

Poe, who ran against Roxas in the presidential elections last May, said Roxas should explain what took him so long to address the anomalies in the maintenance of trains.

“He (Roxas) was there for 2011 until at the latter part of 2012 and nothing happened during his tenure,” said Poe.

READ: MRT problems started during Roxas’ tenure—Poe

Former government officials, even if they are no longer in public service, should still be held accountable for neglecting their responsibilities, stressed the lady senator.

“With all due respect to former secretaries, whoever they are, they need to come back and explain to the public because even if they are no longer in public service because they continue to be accountable for the decisions they made if they’ve been neglectful of their responsibilities, and if there’s outright malice not having performed as expected,” Poe said.

But the senator said the purpose of calling Roxas and other transportation officials from the past administration was not to blame them for the mess, but to see how they can move forward and fix the problem that is causing inconvenience to the people.

“We’re not just here pointing fingers and blaming the past, we’re also trying to see how we can move forward and fix the problem that’s already there,” Poe said. IDL