MANILA, Philippines – A recently sacked transportation official issued a public apology to  President Rodrigo Duterte for supposedly inadvertently mentioning the First Family in relation to the Mindanao Railway Project.

“Humaharap ako sa taong bayan upang magbigay ng public apology sa ating mahal na Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte (I am facing the public to give a public apology to our beloved President Rodrigo Roa Duterte),” former Department of Transportation (DOTr) assistant secretary Mark Tolentino said during an interview with reporters on Friday, May 25. 

“Pasensiya na po na sa hindi sinasadyang kadahilanan, nabanggit ko po ang First Family sa Q and A section during my press conference last week, May 18, 2018 (I apologize for unintentionally mentioning the First Family during the Q and A section during my press conference last week, May 18, 2018),” Tolentino added.

Tolentino’s mention of the First Family had even prompted presidential son-in-law Manases Carpio, husband of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, to post on Facebook  that Tolentino was “spreading lies” that he had the blessing of the First Family.

Tolentino said he regretted putting Duterte “in an embarrassing situation.”

He denied he had made any deals with one of the President’s sisters but admitted to personally knowing Duterte’s younger sister, Jocellyn Duterte.

Tolentino said the presidential sister paid him a “courtesy call” around a month ago. 

“Walang deal na nangyari kahit mamatay pa ako ngayon (No deal happened, even if I die now). Purely friendship, purely camaraderie, being a Mindanaoan of course kahit sino pumunta sa (whoever goes to the) office we need to entertain naman (of course),” he said. 

Tolentino stressed that he might have just felt too strongly about the timely implementation of the Mindanao Railway Project, hence his inadvertent mention of a First Family member’s support for the project.

“In good faith, gusto ko lang talaga matapos on time ang Mindanao Railway. Kasi ‘yun lang ang ambisyon ng mga ordinaryong taga-Mindanao, lalo na sa Davao area, Davao region,” he said.

(In good faith, I just really wanted the Mindanao Railway to be finished on time. Because that is the ambition of ordinary Mindanaoans, especially in the Davao area, Davao region.)

He also expressed hope that Malacañang would look into the alleged delayed implementation of the big-ticket infrastructure project, the very reason why he had held a press conference that was blasted by fellow transportation officials as “misleading.” (READ: DOTr usec; Allegations over Mindanao Railway Project ‘false, uninformed’)

“I hope they can look into the delays. I hope the implementation of the Mindanao rail can get started,” he said in Filipino. 

Tolentino said the push for the railway project to be funded through a foreign loan will likely delay its implementation.

“You can observe sa mga loans kung may naumpisahan ba (if any of them has been started),” he said.

Transportation officials had countered this allegation, saying that foreign funding is needed for a project of such scale.

China and Japan are among the foreign governments interested in providing a loan for the Mindanao Railway through Official Development Assistance. The entity tapped for the loan is usually given the right to choose the contractors and suppliers for the project. – Rappler.com