Gloria Arroyo ‘at the center’ of NBN-ZTE anomaly — FSGO

March 13, 2008

Former senior government officials under different administrations yesterday said President Arroyo is at the center of all anomalies hounding the government.After its one-week moratorium for the Chief Executive expired, the group, calling itself the Former Senior Government Officials (FSGO), issued a stronger statement, noting that it has lost its confidence in Mrs. Arroyo as it questions her moral authority, as well as her authority to govern.

At a conference at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City yesterday, the group said it has “concluded that GMA (Mrs. Arroyo’s initials) refuses to serve the people’s demand for truth about a matter of great public interest.”

“We express our loss of confidence in her. As a con-sequence, we question not only her moral authority to govern, but also her ability to govern given the mounting garbage of lies and obfuscation that she is constrained to build to cover up the increasing stench of corruption in her administration,” said Karina

David, former Civil Service Commission chairman under Arroyo administration, reading the group’s statement.

The FSGO stressed that it has seen Mrs. Arroyo’s refusal, despite ample chances and many sound reasons, a clear basis “for our people to find her complicit, and in fact, at the center of, the corruption and cover up of the NBN-ZTE deal.”

The call of the FSGO, however, did not include for the clamor for Mrs. Arroyo to resign, saying such would depend on the individual decision of its members.

“No we are not asking for her resignation. We have some members who belong to other groups calling for the President’s resignation. But as far as our group (FSGO) is concerned, we are not calling for a resignation,” Veronica Villavicencio, former lead convenor of the National Anti-Poverty Commission, said.

David noted that the cover-ups rendered useless Malacañang’s repeal of Executive Order 464, which gags officials of the executive department from testifying before congressional investigations.

She urged government officials to examine their conscience if they should still serve under Mrs. Arroyo.

Also, she said the FSGO will continue using its influence to make ordinary Filipinos aware of corruption and the problems they cause.

Beyond discovering the truth behind the anomalous NBN-ZTE deal, the group stressed that “we need to strengthen our civil service institutions so that they become less vulnerable to being coopted for corrupt purposes.”

“Corruption is never good for the economy… Any economic gains based on corruption in the government are mere illusions, are of limited benefit, and cannot last. Only transparency and fair play are enduring foundations for a strong economy,” Cielito Habito, former director general of National Economic Development Authority (Neda) said.

The group also urged those directly appointed by the President if they believe that they are keeping faith with their signed oath to defend and protect the nation’s Constitution and its laws “in the face of blatant, shameless corruption and violation of individual rights.”

“We ask those in the civil service and foreign service to examine their conscience to discern if their continued service in this administration is not in fact helping prop up a regime that, at best abets large-scale corruption, lies and cover up, and at worst is a party to them,” the group said.

The FSGO also called the public to press its demand for a just resolution of governance issues and violation of the public trust raised against the President.

David said members of the group will go tour to several provinces and different areas to help people understand the issues and explain the known facts surrounding the many instances of corruption as they will encourage them to act in accordance with the dictates of their conscience.

“We shall work with other sectors to put forward and apply other measures to mane our other democratic institutions work better in preventing, exposing, and punishing corruption at any level or our government starting at the top,” the group added.

Malacañang, however, also yesterday dismissed statements of former senior government officials, saying the “Ex-Men” had been reduced to “rumormongers.”

Deputy presidential spokesman Lorelei Fajardo said “the statement of the ‘Ex-Men’ is irresponsible and sweeping.”

“It is easy to point a finger, but where is the proof?” she asked.

Having held positions in government, Fajardo said, the former officials should have known that allegations not backed by evidence are mere “loose talk.”

“From respected government officials, now they have simply become rumormongers. What a sad turn of events,” the Palace official noted.

The FSGOs earlier said the President has lost the “ability to govern” amid allegations of massive corruption against her administration, the latest of which was the botched NBN deal with China’s ZTE Corp.

The former Cabinet officials have submitted five demands for Mrs. Arroyo, which include allowing Neri to testify before the Senate inquiry into the NBN scandal.

Fajardo, however, said the FSGOs was “barking up the wrong tree.”

She said Neri would have testified had the Senate accepted a compromise deal offered by the Supreme Court.

That compromise, related to a petition Neri filed against an order for his arrest from the Senate for failing to heed summons to testify at the NBN inquiry, would have prevented senators from asking the former National Economic Development Authority chief questions about the President’s reaction when he told her of an alleged P200-million bribe offer from Abalos to endorse the NBN contract. PNA

By Jason Faustino and Sherwin C. Olaes

Source: http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20080314hed4.html

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