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By William B. Depasupil and
Maricel V. Cruz Reporters
Benjamin Abalos Sr., former
chairman of the Commission on Elections, described as
“ridiculous” the allegations of Rodolfo Lozada Jr. who has
accused him of trying to make a pile from the canceled broadband
project.
Among other charges, Lozada said
Abalos threatened to kill him if he did not stop objecting to the
approval of the project. At stake for Abalos, according to Lozada,
was $130-million worth of “commission.”
“What kind of people are
they?” Abalos asked Thursday. It has been a year since Lozada
claimed that he knew about the national broadband deal, why is he
coming out only now with his allegations, Abalos added.
He refused to comment further,
saying he has not heard the accusations against him, nor has he seen
the written record of Lozada’s allegations
“That is why I’m trying to
get a copy of the transcript [of the accusations]. I want to read it
first,” Abalos said. He added that he would make his moves,
including the filing of charges, afterwards.
Abalos said he wants to hear
first what Lozada will say in the Senate hearing, because “it
would be under oath.” The hearing is set for today by the
blue-ribbon committee.
“I don’t like to make any
further comment because it would give him [Lozada] the opportunity
to correct his mistakes,” he said. “I want him to speak at the
Senate first.”
Abalos resigned as poll chairman
on October 1, 2007, four months ahead of his mandatory retirement,
after Jose “Joey” de Venecia 3rd implicated him and President
Gloria Arroyo’s husband, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, in the
broadband deal. Mike Arroyo denied the allegations.
President Arroyo then scrapped
the controversial project.
Abalos insisted on his innocence,
saying that resignation was not an admission of guilt, but was
prompted by allegations that Malacañang was out to protect him. He
added that he also wanted to spare the House of Representatives from
comments that impeachment moves against him will not prosper as many
congressmen owe him a debt of gratitude for alleged favors he had
extended to them in past elections.
Former House Speaker Jose de
Venecia Jr. also refused to comment on Lozada’s exposé. But in a
report posted on the ABS-CBN website, he urged Mrs. Arroyo to join
his campaign for a “moral revolution” instead of her continuing
to hold on to power until 2010.
De Venecia’s son, Jose
“Joey” de Venecia 3rd, had also accused Abalos of trying to make
off with bribes from the broadband deal.
His father said he will use the
floor of the House of Representatives to outline in detail what he
described as “corruption in all units of the government.”
De Venecia, who until Monday had
been House Speaker for 12 years, added that he will offer
“first-hand” knowledge and evidence on shady deals, and
volunteered to testify against the First Family if Congress launches
a full investigation.
Sen. Manuel Roxas 2nd challenged
the Arroyo administration to present to the Senate the minutes of
the National Economic and Development Authority’s meetings on the
broadband deal to disprove witnesses’ claims that it was anomalous
and overpriced.
“If the Palace is saying
technical consultant [Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr.] and other
witnesses are liars, why hide the documents beneath the cloak of
executive privilege?” asked Roxas, co-chairman of the Senate joint
panel investigating the cancelled $330-million deal.
He and Sen. Benigno Aquino 3rd
filed with the Supreme Court on October 26 a petition to clarify the
bounds of executive privilege and whether such privilege was
applicable to the situation at present.
--With AFP
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