All projects, agreements ‘done with full, rigorous compliance with law’ – Abaya

Former Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio “Jun” Abaya. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA

Former Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya asserted on Tuesday that all projects and agreements entered into not only during his stint but during the Aquino administration were done with “full, rigorous compliance with the law, with honesty, and in the public interest.”

“I am confident that any inquiry will show that any and all projects and agreements entered into during not only my stint but during the Aquino administration were done with full, rigorous compliance with the law, with honesty, and in the public interest,” Abaya said in a text message.

“Both for myself and my subordinates, I am sure we will be vindicated by the record. My only regret is that much-needed improvements will once again be delayed or even reversed because of the current unfounded allegations,” he added.

Abaya issued the statement when sought for comment on the plunder charges filed against him and other top Cabinet members of former President Benigno S. Aquino III over the alleged anomalous maintenance contract of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3).

READ: DOTr sues former Aquino cabinet men for plunder over MRT-3 mess

Among those charged were former Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas, former Budget Secretary Butch Abad, former Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, former Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla, former Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, former Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, former Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo, and former National Economic Development Authority chief Arsenio Balisacan.

Abaya said he has yet to see a copy of the complaint but issued his statement on the issue anyway.

“As a former senior government official I know full well that public office is a public trust. This means even after leaving office, I cannot, and will not, shirk my duty to face official proceedings to inquire into my stewardship of DOTC (Department of Transportation and Communications),” he said.          /kga