Nuñez is key — Ople

Sen. Blas Ople said yesterday that a former consultant of the Department of Transportation and Communications could be the key in determining if money really changed hands at Malacañang over a botched telecommunications franchise deal.

Ople said that Malou Nuñez, the former DOTC consultant, is the "missing link" in the chain of circumstances in the alleged P40-million bribery for the recall of the presidential veto on the grant of franchises to two telecommunications companies.

He urged the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to seek the assistance of the Philippine Embassy in Washington and the Philippine consulate in New York so Nuñez could return to the Philippines and testify before the committee.

Latest reports revealed Nuñez was staying in New Jersey. She left shortly after the controversy over the alleged bribery attempt on First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, who has denied the charges. He blamed the fracas on text messaging.

Arroyo went to the US shortly after the departure of Nuñez, but he said the trip was for medical reasons. He denied ever calling Nuñez or personally knowing her.

Former Malacañang correspondence secretary Veronica "Bing" Rodrigo told the Blue Ribbon Committee the other day that she had merely heard of reports about Mr. Arroyo’s alleged receipt of bribe money but stressed that she was not charging him with anything.

At the same time, Rodrigo expressed her conviction that money did change hands at Malacañang over attempts to recall the veto.

Mr. Arroyo, however, contended that no such bribery took place and that Rodrigo was merely expressing a personal opinion.

At Malacañang, President Arroyo insisted that Rodrigo had no direct knowledge of and did not witness any bribe money changing hands for her recall of the vetoed franchise bills.

The President said Rodrigo’s claims were mere hearsay.

Ople said that the initial questioning of Rodrigo showed that Nuñez was the most active agent in the effort to recall the presidential veto.

"She is the probable source of the information that an act of bribery took place," he said.

Rodrigo told the Blue Ribbon Committee that she heard from Nuñez that one group was raising false hopes over the recall of the presidential veto and that she (Rodrigo) would be made the scapegoat for the failure to recall the veto. She said that she resigned rather than be blamed for the fiasco.

Rodrigo and Mr. Arroyo met for the first time last Thursday at the Senate hearing since the controversy erupted in July. He approached her and apologized for all the unnecessary trouble.

Mr. Arroyo said that he had long wanted to meet Rodrigo, his wife’s childhood friend, but decided against it because it might be misconstrued as an attempt to silence her. — With Marichu Villanueva