Opposition to JDV: Time to tell all on NBN-ZTE deal

May 26, 2008

THE United Opposition yesterday dared Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia to tell all he knows about the NBN-ZTE broadband scandal.

“The right time to speak about the NBN-ZTE scandal is now,” said Makati Mayor and UNO president Jejomar Binay. De Venecia, a former Speaker, on asked for more time before testifying on the $329 million NBN-ZTE scandal, saying the issue is serious and might lead to the downfall of the Arroyo administration.

De Venecia accompanied President Arroyo and Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo to Shenzhen, China supposedly to play golf with officials of ZTE Corp., one of the proponents of the national broadband network project, in December 2006.

“This is a supreme opportunity for the former Speaker to prove his sincerity in calling for moral recovery, and to do justice to the Filipino people at the same time,” Binay said.

Binay cautioned De Venecia that his hedging can only lead to speculations that he is only using the renewed interest on the NBN-ZTE deal as a bargaining chip with the administration.

“I still believe that the former Speaker wants to do the right thing. He will be a most credible witness if and when he issues his statement on the NBN-ZTE deal,” Binay said.

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez said the possibility of De Venecia testifying is a good response to the pastoral statement last February of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines which called on all those who have knowledge on the broadband project to tell everything they know.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said De Venecia was the “secret witness” he was referring to who is willing to “spill the beans” that would implicate President Arroyo in the broadband deal.

“It’s really important to hear from him and from there we can judge as to how relevant and significant to our investigation his information,” Cayetano said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson advised De Venecia that waiting for the “right time” might only give the public an impression that he has ulterior motives, including getting back the speakership.

Minority leader Aquilino Pimentel said: “It would be better if he (De Venecia) would just testify truthfully about the national broadband network-ZTE and other shady deals. His waiting for the right time might never come.”

WILL NOT LOSE SLEEP

Malacañang will not stop De Venecia from telling the Senate about what happened in Shenzhen.

“There’s no need to worry about it. I think what might come out is how much does he know?” said Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

“If he (De Venecia) wants to commit hara-kiri, go for it. He’ll be the first to go down although on second though, he’s already down,” said Rep. Monico Puentevella (Lakas, Bacolod).

“It is very obvious that it is not the truth that is motivating him but most probably vengeance.”

Rep. Kahlil Abraham Mitra (NPC, Palawan) said De Venecia will only waste time and effort if he decides to testify.

“JDV does not have any credibility anymore. Everything he says will just come out as sour- graping. Why didn’t he speak up when he was still Speaker?” he said.

Speaker Prospero Nograles (Davao City) said the President has nothing to fear about De Venecia’s testimony.

“His threat that the (Arroyo) government will fall is a figment of his imagination, to say the least. I think the government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been through worse crises,” he said. - Gerard Naval, JP Lopez, Wendell Vigilia and Peter Tabingo

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