By Rene Q Bas/Manila Times
The most remarkable feature of the press conference Transportation and Communications secretary Emilio Abaya held on Friday was his effort to discredit the Czech Republic’s ambassador Josef Rychtar.
This effort was markedly noticeable in the Presidential spokesman secretary Edwin Lacierda’s words on the subject to Malacanang reporters.
What impressed our reporter who attended Abaya’s press conference was the secretary’s insistence that the Czech ambassador was, in effect, lying when he told the Manila Times that the Czech company Inekon, which has been bidding to supply MRT3 coaches and modernisation technology and systems, had been blacklisted as a Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) supplier.
The absence of a blacklist against Inekon or the Czech Republic was also highlighted to Palace reporters by Secretary Lacierda.
The Manila Times special report in three parts by chairman Emeritus Dante A Ang did not have the word “blacklist” or “blacklisted.”
But it appears obvious that Inekon would never be entertained by the authorities in the DOTC – and is therefore the subject of a practical blacklist – because the Czech government over the last three years has sent more than 10 official letters to the DOTC supporting the Inekon proposal and “submitted to the DOTC booklets of extensive technical plans and financial proposals in order to comply with Philippine procurement procedures.”
These words come from a letter dated June 29, 2013 to President Benigno S Aquino by Czech ambassador Rychtar.
Until now, Inekon and the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Trade and Foreign Affairs are still waiting for a response to the letters.
However, as detailed in Dr Dante Ang’s three-part special report, the Inekon proposal was the subject of conversations between the Czech ambassador, MRT General Manager Vitangcol and his friends.
Some of these conversations involved an effort to get Inekon to pay bribe money as much as $30mn and later lowered to $2.5mn.
Is it because the Palace officials and Secretary Abaya want to clear not only Vitangcol but its supervisory agency, the DOTC, from any involvement in the shameless extortion attempt on the Czech Republic?
Nevertheless, the fact that Secretary Abaya at his Friday press conference announced that he is initiating a probe on MRT general manager’s possible involvement in the extortion attempt indicates that the expose authored by Dr Ang and supported by documents and interviews with persons who affirmed having witnessed and heard the extortion attempt, has moved the Aquino administration to do the right thing.