TWO lawmakers on Thursday pressed for the resignation of three more Transport Department undersecretaries for having previously served in private firms with stakes in the department’s infrastructure projects.
Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo and Akbayan party-list Rep. Tom Villarin said Undersecretary for Air Operations Robert Lim, Undersecretary for Maritime Affairs Felipe Judan, and Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Raoul Creencia must resign to avoid embarrassing the Duterte administration.
They joined several other lawmakers, led by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who have sought the ouster of the “conflicted” Transportation officials.
Earlier, Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Noel Kintanar, who was previously with Ayala Corp., resigned following a clamor to revamp the department.
Alvarez has raised an alarm over the negotiated contracts that will be covered by an emergency powers package being sought by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade. He said doing away with the procurement law might lead to anomalous contracts favoring former employers of the department’s undersecretaries.
Kintanar was instrumental in Ayala’s acquisition of rail projects under the previous administration before he joined the department.
Lim was a former country manager of the International Air Transport Association, while Judan was formerly an executive of Southwest Maritime Group, which has businessman Ramon Ang’s Petron as customer. Ang is now majority owner of Manila North Harbor Port Inc.
“Resignation is voluntary. There are laws to ensure conflict of interest will not compromise their jobs however flawed,” Castelo said.
Villarin said Duterte must eventually make a decision on the fate of these officials. “This is where the challenge of governance lies,” he said.
Alvarez said the issue of conflict of interest must be resolved since under the proposed emergency powers package, Transportation officials would be free to enter into negotiated contracts with the companies that previously employed them.
“With all these people at the [Transportation Department], these undersecretaries who have their own vested interests, I am sure they will negotiate these contracts,” he said.
He stressed that Tugade was ultimately to blame for the actions of his people.
“At the end of the day, he is still accountable for the inefficiencies of these people whom he appointed as undersecretaries,” Alvarez said.