MANILA — Senator Grace Poe on Thursday expressed doubts that the only reason Department of Transportation (DOTr) Undersecretary Cesar Chavez decided to quit his post is because of his failure to address problems hounding the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3).
“I respect Usec. Cesar Chavez for tendering his resignation in the light of the MRT problems. I admire his sense of delicadeza although I doubt that that is the only reason that prompted him to resign,” Poe said in a press statement, but did not mention what other reason she had in mind.
Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services, said it seemed like Chavez is one of the transport officials who was “determined to fully address all the issues plaguing the MRT.”
She also recalled that it was Chavez who was instrumental in revealing the persons involved in the MRT-3 anomalies.
The senator, however, said that it was also time to evaluate the leadership of the DOTr as a whole in connection with how MRT-3 issues have been addressed.
She said that the issues should be “properly and expeditiously resolved” despite Chavez’s resignation.
Meanwhile, she expressed hope that President Rodrigo Duterte would immediately be able to find a replacement for Chavez.
In a separate statement, Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito said that he felt “sad” about Chavez’s resignation.
“That is sad because Usec Cesar Chavez is one of the most passionate DOTr officials specially on railway projects,” Ejercito said.
Chavez tendered his “irrevocable resignation” from his post on Thursday out of a “simple sense of delicadeza”. (PNA)
