THE Office of the Ombudsman has found basis to charge former Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and 16 others with graft before the Sandiganbayan over the alleged anomalous Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) maintenance contract.

The others were former Transportation Undersecretaries Edwin Lopez, Rene Limcaoco (then-head of the negotiating team), and Catherine Jennifer Francis Gonzales (then-vice head of the negotiating team); former MRT-3 General Manager Roman Buenafe, former Assistant Secretary Camille Alcaraz, Ofelia Astrera (former vice chairperson of the MRT-3 bids and awards committee), Charissa Eloisa Julia Opulencia, Oscar Bongon, and Jose Rodante Sabayle.