Roque: MRT-related cases vs ex-execs are based on facts; ‘not just scapegoat’

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque riding the train in this file photo. INQUIRER.net file photo / Ryan Leagogo

The string of cases filed against former government officials over the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) mess was not about “covering up” the Duterte administration’s shortcomings on the issue, Malacañang said Friday.

“We cannot simply sweep the sins of incompetence and corruption under the rug with the harsh reality of half a million daily suffering riding public staring us in the face,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

Roque issued the statement in response to Vice President Leni Robredo’s remark that the current leadership should not use former officials during the Aquino administration as scapegoat for its shortcomings.

“Ako, mahirap magparatang, pero sa akin kapag may nagkasala, tama lamang na sampahan ng kaso. Iyong atin lang ninanais, sana iyong pagsampa ng kaso ay base sa datos na maayos. Hindi siya ginagawang dahilan para lang maghanap ng scapegoat para sa mga bagay na hindi nagagawa,” Robredo said on Wednesday.

(For me it’s hard to just accuse, but if someone has committed wrongdoings, it’s just right to file a case against him. But what we want is they file a case based on relevant data and solid evidence. It should not be used just to find a scapegoat for the things they are unable to do.)

Last week, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) filed a plunder complaint against former Cabinet members of the Aquino administration, including former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio “Jun” Abaya, over the allegedly MRT-3’s anomalous maintenance contract with Busan Universal Rail Inc. (Buri).

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

Roque said Robredo’s remarks were “unfortunate.”

“With all due respect to Vice President Robredo, the MRT-3 issue is not about covering up shortcomings,” he said, adding that the administration has “faced the MRT-3 mess squarely.”

“The President has even apologized over a recent train mishap, and transport officials admitted that while they cannot solve the problems overnight they are working double time to restore the convenience and reliability of the MRT-3 by getting a proven maintenance firm and buying needed parts,” he noted.

Roque said the existing MRT-3 problems were inherited from previous administration, and “the long-suffering commuters of Metro Manila have known for years how the past government destroyed” the MRT-3.

“The filing of the plunder complaint against officials of the previous administration was to make them accountable,” he added.

“These officials facilitated the negotiated procurement of long-term maintenance contracts to Buri, which per the Supplemental Complaint Affidavit filed by the DOTr, ‘turned the DOTC as a bottomless cash cow entering into one anomalous procurement project,’” Roque said. /jpv