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DESPITE
getting embroiled in alleged bribery in the $329-million
broadband contract scandal, Zhong Xing
Telecommunications Equipment Co. Ltd. (ZTE) has not been
blacklisted from pursuing other projects listed in an
investment package supposed to be bankrolled by China
under an agreement signed by ZTE and Philippine
officials, Trade Secretary Peter Favila told the Senate
on Tuesday.
Under
questioning by Sen. Francis Escudero at the resumption
of the broadband scandal hearings yesterday, Favila
confirmed that only the ZTE deal to put up a national
broadband network (NBN) has been scrapped on orders of
President Arroyo.
He added
that other pending projects covered by a so-called
cooperative agreement with the Chinese company’s sister
company, ZTE International Investment Ltd., are still in
the works, explaining that the memorandum of
understanding (MOU) signed by the Department of Trade
and Industry and ZTE provide for “cooperation in various
activities.”
These
include: the establishment of information technology
school and training center; exploration, development and
operation of mining areas in North Davao and in Diwalwal;
and establishment of a special economic zone in the
Davao area.
As
provided for in the four-page accord signed by Favila
and ZTE’s president Yu Yong in 2006, “the purpose of the
MOU is to express in writing the cooperative agreement
of the parties herein to work together and to cooperate
in the development and implementation of various
investment activities in the Philippines.”
The MOU
described ZTE Co., including ZTE International, as a
state-owned company listed in both the Shenzen Stock
Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and have “the
full financial backing of the Chinese government and
major financial institutions for its projects in
different countries.”
Senate
Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Sen. Richard
Gordon earlier asked Chinese authorities to delist ZTE
from the Hong Kong bourse for allegedly misusing its
shareholders’ investments in the company in illegal
dealings in Manila, and for repeatedly ignoring summons
to appear at a Senate inquiry to shed light on
allegations that ZTE officials paid $41 million in
advance kickbacks to Philippine brokers identified with
the Arroyo administration to facilitate the transaction.
Pressed
by Escudero, Favila explained he was in no position to
say that ZTE can no longer participate in the other
projects listed in the MOU in the wake of a major
scandal hounding its involvement in the aborted
broadband contract.
He added
that while the ZTE-NBN deal has been canceled by
President Arroyo, the door is still open for ZTE to
proceed with the other projects covered by the
cooperation agreement with the Chinese company.
Escudero
said he would press for the cancellation of the whole
deal with ZTE. He explained that Favila entered into an
“onerous deal” for and in behalf of the Philippine
government and ZTE International, that practically bound
the country to award the NBN project and other deals and
contracts to ZTE. “With Favila’s confirmation that only
the NBN deal was canceled, there is more reason for the
Senate to scrutinize other parts of the ZTE deal,” he
added.
During
the Senate hearing on Tuesday, “surprise witness” Leo
San Miguel denied having personal knowledge about the
bribe allegedly given by ZTE officials to deal brokers
in Manila after ZTE bagged the broadband contract,
contrary to expectations that San Miguel would
corroborate earlier testimonies linking the President’s
husband, Mike Arroyo and former elections chairman
Benjamin Abalos Sr. to alleged kickbacks advanced by ZTE.
Supreme
Court Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr.,
meanwhile, declined calls for him to recuse from voting
on the petition filed by Commission on Higher Education
(Ched) Chairman Romulo Neri seeking to enjoin the Senate
from compelling him to appear before its investigation
into the bribery scandal involving the government’s
multimillion-dollar NBN project with ZTE.
In a
statement, Velasco admitted that he had played golf with
Neri and NBN star witness Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr. at
the Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City,
but this happened only once, thus, should not be used as
a basis for his recusation.
Lozada
earlier disclosed that Velasco and Neri were golf
buddies and that he played one game with them.
“It is
unfortunate that Lozada uses this incident as basis for
my inhibition in the NBN-ZTE case initiated by Secretary
Neri before the Court. It is unfair to virtually
question my objectivity and capacity to render a just
and detached judgment in that NBN-ZTE case on account of
a single round of golf. Rest assured that I will vote in
the NBN-ZTE case fairly as I have done in all previous
case,” Velasco said.
Velasco
said Lozada’s allegations are “devoid of truth since he
and Neri were not actually golf mates but just mere
acquaintances.”
The
chief of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)
at the same time said no bureau personnel are “involved
on the alleged assassination plot to kill Lozada.”
“The
jail personnel who were implicated by an anonymous
texter are but ordinary jail officers who religiously do
their job to the fullest in service of the institution,”
Chief Supt. Rosendo Dial, BJMP officer in charge, said.
Investigation revealed that the alleged assassination
plot originated from an anonymous text message that said
Senior Insp. Fermin Enriquez, Senior Jail Officer 4
Virgilio Ang and Jail Officer 1 Michael Garcia are
recruiting hired killers to hit Lozada.
When
asked as to the possible reason why he and his men were
implicated, Enriquez, chief of the Intelligence and
Investigation Branch (IIB) of Quezon City Jail, said:
“We do not discount the possibility that the
perpetrators of this maliciously motivated text messages
are individuals who are involved in illegal activities
whom we have run into in performance of our duty as
intelligence and investigation officers.”
“We
believe they took advantage of the media attention
Lozada is receiving, that is why we were implicated in
this concocted assassination plot. Perhaps these
unscrupulous people want us to be relieved from Quezon
City Jail so that they can freely do their illegal
activities,” Enriquez added. (With M. Gonzalez, J. San
Juan and J. Perez) |
