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Business tycoon Enrique “Ricky” Razon Jr. denied
allegations that he played a role in the controversial national
broadband deal, which was just canceled by President Gloria
Arroyo.
On Monday, Jarius Bondoc’s
column in The Philippine Star quoted former socioeconomic planning
chief Romulo Neri as saying the broadband deal “was the handiwork
of Ricky Razon and Comelec chief Benjamin Abalos …”
Abalos denies involvement in the
controversial deal and is expected to file a case to Neri.
Then on Wednesday, an Inquirer
story wrote about how Jose “Joey” de Venecia 3rd saw Razon
supposedly berating Neri, who was afterward transferred to the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) from the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA), which reviews projects like the
National Broadband Network.
In a statement Wednesday, Razon
“disputed” the statements by Neri and de Venecia.
“Razon emphasized that he is a
critic of Neri, but he is not an enemy,” the statement read.
“Razon explained that he is critical of Neri’s opinion only as
far as port liberalization in concerned. He adds that because of
this, Neri now has an ax to grind against him and is even going as
far as to drag his name into the ZTE scandal.”
The statement quotes Razon: “I
would never get involved in such an unseemly affair.”
Razon also reacted to a story
told by de Venecia who said he witnessed the businessman yelling at
his father, House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.
Razon’s statement said, “The
Speaker is a friend of mine, and we have had many animated
conversations, but I have never berated him. At the very least, the
Speaker should have the decency to clarify the statements made by
his son.”
Speaker de Venecia did just that
in a radio interview Wednesday. He said he does not recall that
incident. When pressed, the Speaker told DZMM radio that he did not
want to comment on something that he did not have firsthand
knowledge about.
Razon further disputed
allegations that he was responsible for the ouster of Neri from NEDA,
saying, “I had absolutely nothing to do with that. I am only a
businessman afterall.”
Razon is chairman and chief
executive officer of International Container Terminal Services Inc.
(ICTSI), a Filipino multinational company. Razon is also the owner
of Manila Standard-Today, a national daily newspaper.
ICTSI operates the Manila
International Container Terminal, the country’s sole dedicated
container terminal. ICTSI also operates ports in the Philippines,
Brazil, Poland, Madagascar, Japan, Indonesia, Syria, Ecuador,
Colombia and Georgia.
According to the Inquirer, Razon
is part of President Arroyo’s entourage to China, where she is
expected to attend the opening of the ICTSI’s latest overseas
venture—the management of Yantai Port, one of China’s top
commercial ports.
Razon said in his statement that
Neri probably reacted to ICTSI’s objection to Neri’s meddling in
port policies. “It was for this reason that Razon approached Neri
during a dinner almost two years ago for the president of Equatorial
Guinea, hoping to explain the situation of the ICTSI.”
However, Razon claims Neri was
dismissive. Although there was an exchange of words, Razon
categorically states: “There was no shouting of invectives
whatsoever or even raising of voices. It was a function for a head
of state, and proper decorum was called for. And the president of
Equatorial Guinea was standing close by when this happened. Neri has
blown it out of all proportion.”
Razon added that since it was a
state dinner, there couldn’t have been household help around as
claimed by Joey de Venecia. That was his only encounter with Neri,
the statement added.
“In his desire to get back at
me for our rejection of his opinion, he will even try to drag me
into an issue that I have nothing to do with,” Razon said.
“ICTSI is all for the
liberalization of the Philippine ports sector, but it has to be on a
level playing field for all the players. Moreover, commitments have
to be honored,” Razon explained.
Meanwhile, Sen. Alan Peter
Cayetano, who chairs the blue-ribbon committee that is investigating
the broadband deal, said he will invite Razon only if his name is
linked to ZTE.
--With Efren Danao and
The Manila Times staff
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