Abaya, 6 other ex-DOTC officials face graft raps over anomalous license plate deal

(Eagle News)– Former transportation secretary Joseph Emilio “Jun” Abaya and six other officials of the dissolved Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC)  and the Land Transportation Office  (LTO) are facing graft charges for the purchase of P3.8 billion worth of license plates under the Aquino administration.

Former Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) general manager Al Vitangcol led the filing of the case against Abaya at the Department of Justice on Tuesday (December 6).

Vitangcol told reporters that the new complaint would add Abaya and DOTC and LTO officials as respondents to the group’s first complaint, which only tagged Power Plates Development Concepts Inc. and the J. Knieriem BV-Power Plates (PPI-JKG Joint Venture) as respondents.

Aside from Abaya, the other officials charged were  Transportation Assistant Secretary Dante Lantin; Land Transportation Office (LTO) Alfonso Tan Jr.; former DOTC Bids and Awards Committee members Jose Perpetuo Lotilla, Rene Limcaoco, Julianito Bucayan Jr., and Catherine Jennifer Gonzales.  They were accused of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Government Officials and Employees.

In August, the DOJ issued a resolution ordering the indictment of officials of the Power Plates Development Concepts Inc. and J. Knieriem BV-Power Plates.

Vitangcol said  that due to the connivance of Abaya and other government officials to tap an unqualified private supplier, the public suffered from massive delays in the issuance of license plates for cars and motorcycles.

The Commission on Audit stopped the implementation of the project midway in 2015 due to anomalies.

The former DOTC had been dissolved and two new departments have been created in its place — the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.