Ex-MRT Chairman, Vitangcol ipinaaaresto

MANILA, Philippines - Ipinag-utos ng Sandiganbayan 6th division ang pag-aresto kay dating MRT3 General Manager Al Vitangcol at kay Wilson de Vera. Kaugnay ito ng 2 counts ng kasong katiwalian sa anti-graft court.

Kinasuhan ang dalawa dahil umano sa pangingikil ni Vitangcol ng 30 million dollar sa kumpanyang Inekon para maibigay sa kumpanya ang kontrata para sa pagsu-supply ng mga bagon sa MRT 3 para sa expansion project nito .

Nangyari umano ang sinasabing pangingikil noong Hulyo 2012.

Batay sa imbestigasyon g ombudsman, pinadala umano ni Vitangcol ang kanyang envoy na si De Vera upang mangikil ng $30 million sa Inekon, bumaba hanggang $2.5 million ang halaga bago maigawad sa Inekon ang kontrata.

Naglagak na ng P60,000 piyansa si Vitangcol sa Sandiganbayan Sixth Division.

Samantala, binalewala naman ni Vitangcol ang kaso na kanyang kinakaharap.

Iginiit naman ni Vitangcol na puros kasinungalingan lamang ang mga asunto laban sa kanya at bahagi lamang daw ng political persecution dahil sa pagsalungat sa nakaraang administrasyon.

“We would see that this Ombudsman is very selective in its prosecution, and as I said before, this is not prosecution but persecution,” 

“They would only look at certain documents, they refuse to look at others, and there are even some that they would distort,”

“If they [the prosecutors] really believed in what the ambassador said, why did they only concentrate on what he said against me and not against the other officials of the DOTC,” pahayag ni Vitangcol.

Matatandaang noong Pebrero, hiniling nya sa Korte Suprema ang pagpapatigil ng Sandiganbayan sa pagsampa ng kaso sa kanya.

“I am the only DOTC official charged by the Ombudsman despite the unmistakable knowledge, involvement, participation and instruction of my superiors in the DOTC headed by former Secretary Roxas, current Secretary Abaya, Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Jose Perpetuo M. Lotilla and Undersecretary Rene K. Limcaoco, who should have been the ones brought to justice for gross and inexcusable inaction, if not willful and deliberate manipulation, of the events and processes related to the maintenance of MRT 3,”