Former Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya appeared in the hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Services on Monday that sought to investigate the poor quality of operations of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3.
Abaya testified that there was nothing irregular in the transactions entered into by the DOTC with regard to the maintenance and repairs of the train system.
“There is no invisible hand in the DOTC. I wouldn’t allow that in my term,” Abaya claimed.
“It was reported that the trains don’t have wheels, engine and signalling system. These are fake news,” he insisted.
Aside from looking into the management and maintenance of the MRT-3, which are marred almost daily by technical glitches, the Senate also inquired on the new trains which had just arrived from Dalian, China.
The trains have not been used reportedly due to incompatibility problems.
The DOTC bought the trains from China for P 3.8 billion during the time of Abaya.