THE Office of the Ombudsman said that former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) secretary Romulo Neri cannot invoke executive privilege to avoid testifying in the graft
case filed against former president and now Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of Pampanga province in connection with the botched $329-million national broadband network deal.
Government lawyers said that Neri can’t hide behind a Supreme Court ruling that allowed former executive secretary Eduardo Ermita to skip a congressional hearing.
Neri’s lawyer Paul Lentejas said that his client could not be compelled to testify against Mrs. Arroyo because the former NEDA chief is also facing graft charges arising from the broadband project. “Whatever testimony which Neri may give in this case could and would be easily used by the prosecution against [him],” Lentejas said.
But the Ombudsman argued that that executive privilege cannot be invoked in a criminal case.
State lawyers said that Neri can be a witness in Mrs. Arroyo’s trial because he already testified against former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos regarding the bungled deal.
Published : Thursday January 17, 2013 | Category : Nation | Hits:303
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