The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed the graft complaint against former Department of Transportation (DOTr) secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and 16 others over the anomalous ₱4.2-billion MRT3 maintenance contract.
endIndex: The Office of the Ombudsman has junked the graft complaints filed against former Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya and 16 other ex-officials of the Transportation Department in connection with the ₱4.2 billion MRT-3 maintenance deal with South Korea s Busan Joint Venture in 2016. (FILE PHOTO)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 12) The Office of the Ombudsman has junked the graft complaints filed against former Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya and 16 other ex-officials of the Transportation Department in connection with the ₱4.2 billion MRT-3 maintenance deal with South Korea s Busan Joint Venture in 2016.
The case was dismissed due to lack of evidence. The evidence on record shows that the element of manifest partiality, evident bad faith and/or gross inexcusable negligence, so as to amount to a violation of Section (e) of RA No. 3019 is wanting, thereby warranting the dismissal of the complaints, stated the order signed by Ombudsman Samuel Martires on
Senator Grace Poe was disappointed over the Ombudsman's decision to dismiss the graft charges filed against former transportation secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and other respondents for an allegedly anomalous MRT-3 maintenance contract.
Sen. Grace Poe
Poe, chairperson of the Senate public serv
Press Release
Accountability must be in the center of our institutions.
It is thus disheartening to hear the news that the Office of the Ombudsman has abandoned its earlier ruling and decided to let the chief architects of the highly anomalous MRT-3 maintenance contract get off scot-free.
This is indeed a slap in the face of the thousands of Filipino commuters who suffered for years due to the failure of public officials to dispense their duty. May nagpabaya kaya nagdusa ang sambayanan.
I will let the earlier decision of the Ombudsman speak for itself. In an 88-page consolidated resolution last 2018, it found probable cause to file graft charges against former transportation secretary Jun Abaya and 16 others for conspiring to provide unwarranted advantage and preference to the Busan Universal Rail Inc. or BURI by awarding to it the P4.2-billion MRT-3 maintenance contract.
PhilHealth, private healthcare officials slapped with charges
THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Monday filed new criminal and administrative complaints against officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) over alleged irregularities in a financial assistance program for health care institutions hammered by “fortuitous” events like the coronavirus pandemic.
The NBI filed the complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman against resigned PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Ricardo C. Morales, among other former and current officials, for alleged violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The respondents also face raps for allegedly misappropriating funds in violation of the National Health Insurance Act of 2013. They also face administrative charges of grave misconduct, gross negligence, and conduct prejudicial to public interest.