Bare MRT maintenance contract, Poe tells Abaya

Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya should make public the newly-signed service contract for the maintenance of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3, according to Sen. Grace Poe.

Poe, who has led Senate investigations on the problems besetting the railway system, said she wants to review the P3.8-billion three-year contract with the Joint Venture of Busan Transportation Corp., Edison Development & Construction, Tramat Mercantile Inc., TMICorp. Inc. and Castan Corp.

According to Poe, there were questions on whether the signed contract was the same as the original or was revised.

She also cited reports that Busan, the only firm in the joint venture that had technical expertise in railway maintenance, wanted to back out of the MRT service contract allegedly because of controversies surrounding the awarding of the deal to the joint venture.

“This is a negotiated contract and we do not even know anything about the provisions of that contract,” she said in a statement, quoting her recent radio interview.

“Up to now, we are still asking for a copy of that contract. Many are saying, is that the original contract or was it revised to make exceptions so that the Koreans would not back out,” she said.

According to the senator, DOTC officials have yet to provide documents about pertinent contracts she had asked for when she led hearings on the MRT problems as chair of the Senate subcommittee on public services.

She said this underscores the need to have a freedom of information act, a transparency and accountability measure that has been passed by the Senate but remains in limbo in the House of Representatives.

Poe also plans to schedule another hearing on the MRT maintenance issue, but said she was disappointed by the fact that these inquiries can only do so much in correcting the actions of government agencies.

Lawmakers can only hold hearings, but the only one with the power to fire incompetent officials or take action is the executive, she said.

“In our inquiries in aid of legislation, we can only make recommendations. Which is why situations like these where you have no power are frustrating,” said Poe, who is running for President in the May elections.

Poe earlier asked President Aquino to fire Abaya on grounds of incompetence given the problems hounding the MRT, but Mr. Aquino said the DOTC secretary would stay on in his post until the end of the President’s term.