It might seem to be a minor matter in the bigger scheme of things now. But one of the biggest and most ruthless lies peddled by presidential candidate Manuel Roxas 2nd at the debate on Sunday was his claim that the mess at the MRT-3 that has caused the service to now teeter toward collapse was caused by its former general manager Al Vitangcol’s corruption.

In a swift reply—an indication that it was a prepared line of defense—to candidate Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that President Aquino’s presidential candidate was not as clean as he pretended to be, as evidenced by the MRT-3 mess, Roxas said: “It’s Al Vitangcol who’s to blame there. Obviously, he had an interest in the firm, as his uncle was an incorporator at PH Trams.”