First Gentleman may be sued anew over ZTE deal - Ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines - Graft charges against First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo can be revived if new evidence on his alleged involvement in the national broadband network (NBN) anomaly would be presented, the Office of the Ombudsman said yesterday.

Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus Jr. said double jeopardy sets in after an accused has been acquitted after trial.

Speaking on the anti-graft agency’s weekly radio program over dzRB, De Jesus said Mr. Arroyo was a respondent in the NBN graft case based only on circumstantial evidence – the alleged meeting at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City.

To establish probable cause based on circumstantial evidence, the accusation must be backed by more than one event or a number of events, he added.

In a resolution released to the media last week, the Office of the Ombudsman cleared Mr. Arroyo of involvement in the alleged anomalous and overpriced contract between the government and China’s ZTE Corp.

A panel of investigators said the circumstances surrounding Mr. Arroyo’s meeting at Wack Wack, where he told whistle-blower Jose de Venecia III to back off, are not complete because no other evidence links him to the alleged irregular deal.

“There is no other independent statement or source of evidence that the meeting was purposely availed of to allow Arroyo to influence the project,” read the resolution of the Office of the Ombudsman.

De Jesus said those questioning the anti-graft agency’s decision should present their arguments before the Supreme Court, not the media.

The Office of the Ombudsman dismissed the charges against President Arroyo because of her immunity from suit, he added.

That immunity will end after she steps down on June 30, De Jesus said.

The anti-graft agency has charged with graft before the Sandiganbayan former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos and Social Security System president Romulo Neri, who was National Economic and Development Authority director general at the time the alleged anomaly took place.

Palace to Aquino: Revive NBN project

Malacañang urged yesterday president-apparent Sen. Benigno Aquino III to revive the aborted NBN project for the country’s economic progress.

Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza said in Southeast Asia, it is only the Philippines and Myanmar that do not have an NBN to integrate all communication and information systems of government agencies.

“I just hope that the next administration should consider the national broadband network project,” he said. “Even Cambodia has it own national broadband so this is really needed.”

Mendoza said if an NBN were in place, the conduct of the automated elections last May 10 would have been more efficient and cheaper.

“(An) information and communication (link) among government offices is important and it will really connect the country,” he said. “We can be one country if we are electronically interconnected.”

Mendoza said currently the government uses different systems that are hard to interconnect and integrate.

“So there is really a need for government intervention,” he said.

Mendoza said the government spends about P4 billion annually for mail and other forms of communication.

Telecommunication connectivity is provided by profit-oriented private companies, which do not service fourth, fifth and sixth-class municipalities, he added. - With Paolo Romero