Vitangcol eyes filing graft case vs. MRT-LRT common station stakeholders

Former Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) General Manager Al Vitangcol III on Thursday said he is in talks with several groups on filing a graft case against government officials and the private sector proponents who entered into a “compromise deal” covering the construction of the LRT-MRT common station.

“I am talking to three NGOs – Anti-Trapo Movement, United Filipino Consumers and Commuters, and the Liga ng Eksklusibong Pagbabago – and we are planning to file a case against the officials concerned on why they agreed to that particular setup,” he said in an interview with reporters after his arraignment was canceled at the Sandiganbayan on Thursday.

Vitangcol, who is facing graft charges related the mass rail transit system, claimed the deal circumvented the Government Procurement Reform Act.

“In any procurement matter, it should be done competitively, pero ang nangyari ay 'yung other party, who was not able to get the award ... entered into a compromise with the winning bidder,” Vitangcol noted.

Vitangcol was referring to SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI) as the "winning bidder" and made a deal with the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) in 2009 to build a common station for the mass rail transit system near the SM North EDSA mall.

But under the Aquino administration, the then-Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) decided to build the station near TriNoma citing a study that the government can save P800 million to P1 billion if the project is relocated to the side of Ayala-controlled mall.

SMPHI sued the DOTC and LRTA for breaching the 2009 agreement.

In 2014, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order to suspend the construction of the common stationin favor of SMPHI .

However, in September last year, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the parties “have come together” and agreed to break ground for the common station.

Vitangcol alleged that entering into a compromise agreement may cause the losing bidder to collude with the winning bidder.

“Lahat ng competitive bidding natin, ganyan ang mangyayari. If I am the losing bidder, all I have to do is enter into a compromise agreement with the winning bidder. So it will result in collusion,” Vitangcol claimed.

On Wednesday, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and its private sector partners signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to start building the common station later this year.

Those who signed the MOA were the DOTr, SMPHI, Universal LRT Corporation (BVI) Limited of the San Miguel Corporation, Light Rail Manila Corporation, North Triangle Depot Commercial Corporation, Department of Public Works and Highways, and LRTA.

Vitangcol is currently facing graft charges for supposedly attempting to extort $30 million from representatives of the Czech firm Inekon Group. — VS, GMA News