Railways Usec Cesar Chavez resigns amid MRT incidents

Chavez said that his resignation was a personal decision, stressing it is his “simple sense of delicadeza (propriety)” that forced him to resign from his position. (Photo: Cesar Chavez/Twitter)

Cesar Chavez on Thursday morning announced the submission of his irrevocable resignation addressed to President Rodrigo Duterte as he stepped down from his post as the Transportation Undersecretary for Railways following several technical breakdowns of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3.

“I’m tendering my irrevocable resignation. Hindi pwedeng lagi tayong naninisi sa nakaraan dahil sa responsibilidad na natin ito [We can’t always blame the past because this is now our responsibility],” Chavez said in a press briefing.

Chavez said that his resignation was a personal decision, stressing it is his “simple sense of delicadeza (propriety)” that forced him to resign from his position.

“I hope the President understands that in the light of recent events involving the MRT 3 system, simple sense of delicadeza, which I have adhered to throughout my professional life gives me no choice but to resign from my said position,” Chavez’s resignation letter read.

Chavez said that the vacancy provides an opportunity for the appointment of person “better qualified to perform the duties and responsibilities of the subject office.”

“I am honored and privileged to have been given the trust and confidence for the subject position, and I hope that problems plaguing the MRT3 System be resolved properly and with dispatch,” Chavez added.

Doubts over resignation

The chair of the Senate public services committee Senator Grace Poe expressed his doubt over Chavez’s resignation.

“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, chair of the Senate public services committee, said in a statement.

However, the lady Senator complimented Chavez and regarded him as one of the DOTr officials who are determined to fully address all the issues plaguing the MRT.

“I recall he was instrumental in unearthing the persons involved in anomalies that caused these issues,” Poe said.