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By Efren L. Danao Senior
Reporter
Romulo Neri told the Senate that
he was offered a P200-million bribe by Benjamin Abalos in connection
with the controversial broadband deal during a golf game with
executives of ZTE Corp.
Abalos denied the charges and
called Neri a liar.
Neri, who is presently acting
chairman of the Commission of Higher Education (CHED), was then
director general of the National Economic and Development Authority
(NEDA), the government agency that reviews infrastructure projects.
Abalos is chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Neri told the Senate blue-ribbon
committee investigating the broadband project that Abalos made the
offer while they were playing golf at the Wack Wack Golf and Country
Club in Mandaluyong City some time in January or February this year.
“You have 200 here,” Neri
quoted Abalos as saying while they were discussing the National
Broadband Network deal that was later awarded to ZTE Corp. of China.
He said he interpreted the
“200” to mean P200 million but kept quiet about it during the
rest of the golf game hosted by Abalos. Neri said he was shocked,
and reported it to President Gloria Arroyo, after consulting his
lawyers.
Neri said he talked to the
President over the telephone and was told not to accept the bribe.
But when senators pressed him for details, he invoked executive
privilege.
Asked to respond to the alleged
bribe offer, Abalos said, “I can’t remember saying that. What
could be my reason to offer him a bribe?” He argued that Neri
himself had made certain assumptions about the “200.”
“Even he did not know if it is
P200, P200,000 or P200 million,” Abalos said referring to Neri.
Abalos challenged the charges
leveled against him, saying that if this were true, then the
implication is that he bribed the Philippine government in behalf of
a foreign government. “That is serious,” he said with his voice
rising.
When asked about Abalos’ denial
of any bribe offer, Neri replied, “I had clearer recollection of
the incident.”
Earlier, businessman Jose
“Joey” de Venecia 3rd claimed that Abalos had also offered him a
$10-million bribe to give way to ZTE in the broadband project. De
Venecia is a co-founder and major shareholder of Amsterdam Holdings
Inc., a rival of the Chinese firm that failed to bag the deal.
Abalos also denied offering anything to de Venecia.
De Venecia said he felt sorry for
Abalos “for perjuring himself.”
He added that it is the Filipino
taxpayers who bear the burden of repaying the P200-million bribe
offered to Neri, since the amount was part of the overpricing.
Sen. Joker Arroyo said the public
hearing might never establish the truth on the bribery charges
because of the absence of any witness to corroborate them.
Abalos said he appeared before
the Senate committee against the advice of his lawyers because he
wanted to clear his name. He said that he had nothing to broker
because ZTE is owned by the Chinese government, and given the
government-to-government nature of the arrangement, choosing the
contractor was the sole prerogative of Beijing.
He repeated what he told the
media earlier, that he cannot be involved in the scandal because he
knows nothing about telecommunications. “To be honest with you, I
don’t even know what is a broadband,” he said.
But Abalos also repeated that he
does not deny knowing and playing golf with ZTE executives.
He added he was the one being
pursued by de Venecia, not the other way around as the businessman
had earlier testified. In fact, Abalos claimed that it was de
Venecia who had been badgering him about the broadband contract.
To support his argument, Abalos
said most of the meetings took place in his office and never in de
Venecia’s. “When I went to my office, I already saw him
there,” Abalos said. “I had to entertain him because he is the
son of the Speaker.” He was referring to the businessman’s
father and namesake, House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.
The younger de Venecia admitted
to going to Abalos’ office in Wack Wack, but he pointed out that
he could not have gone there without the chairman’s invitation,
because he is not a member of that private golf club.
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