One of the country's most prominent senator and defeated presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe demands that the transport officials during the Aquino administration must pay and face trial over the purchase of 48 coaches worth P3.8 billion that turned out to be not suitable for MRT 3 system.
During an interview with the media, Sen. Grace Poe was quoted as saying "Dapat talaga pagbayaran nila yan. Dapat magkaroon ng kaso. (They should pay for it. Charges must be filed)," Poe said.
Sen. Grace Poe also vowed to file a resolution when the Senate resumes its regular session starting Tuesday for the full-dressed probe into the anomaly.
The chairperson of the Senate Public Services Committee, Sen. Grace Poe explained that she and even the current Department of Transportation (DoTr) officials headed by Secretary Arthur Tugade were caught flatfooted by the anomaly during the previous administration.
The senator also revealed that Sec. Tugade was made to believe by past public statements of DOTC officials headed by Sec. Emilio Abaya, that the trains from Dalian, China, would finally end the transport woes of hundreds of thousands of commuters once thy eare installed.
Various reports quoted Sec. Tugade as saying that he did not know that the signaling system of the Dalian trains are not in sync with the current signaling system in place at the MRT 3 system.
Source: PIA
During an interview with the media, Sen. Grace Poe was quoted as saying "Dapat talaga pagbayaran nila yan. Dapat magkaroon ng kaso. (They should pay for it. Charges must be filed)," Poe said.
Sen. Grace Poe also vowed to file a resolution when the Senate resumes its regular session starting Tuesday for the full-dressed probe into the anomaly.
The chairperson of the Senate Public Services Committee, Sen. Grace Poe explained that she and even the current Department of Transportation (DoTr) officials headed by Secretary Arthur Tugade were caught flatfooted by the anomaly during the previous administration.
The senator also revealed that Sec. Tugade was made to believe by past public statements of DOTC officials headed by Sec. Emilio Abaya, that the trains from Dalian, China, would finally end the transport woes of hundreds of thousands of commuters once thy eare installed.
Various reports quoted Sec. Tugade as saying that he did not know that the signaling system of the Dalian trains are not in sync with the current signaling system in place at the MRT 3 system.
Poe said she would compel the appearance of past transport officials before her committee through the coercive powers of subpoenas if they refuse to appear when summoned.
“All will be invited,” Poe said, adding that her planned committee hearing would certainly cut short Abaya’s retirement from government service “because we need his explanation.”