'Abalos expected commissions from ZTE'

MANILA, Philippines - Former elections chairman Benjamin Abalos had expected millions of dollars in commissions from the Chinese firm ZTE Corp. in connection with the national broadband network (NBN) deal, Rodolfo Lozada told the Sandiganbayan yesterday.

In his testimony, the whistle-blower repeated most of his testimony before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearings in 2008, where he bared how Abalos allegedly wanted his $130 million protected.

Lozada told the anti-graft court how Abalos had threatened to kill him for meddling with the project even though he was just a technical adviser of then National Economic and Development Authority director general Romulo Neri.

“Papatayin kitang hayup ka,” he quoted Abalos telling him over the phone after a meeting with ZTE Corp. officials at the Makati Shangri-La in January 2007.

It was during that meeting that officials of the foreign firm were already accusing Abalos of not telling them the truth as to the real status of the NBN-ZTE deal, he added.

Lozada said Neri asked him to help in trying to reconcile the two proposals from ZTE Corp. and businessman Jose “Joey” de Venecia III.

When Abalos was told there is no money for the ZTE proposal because the project is supposed to be on a build-operate-transfer scheme, Abalos allegedly got upset and called former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo to complain, he added.

Lozada told the Sandiganbayan during one meeting, Abalos allegedly urged him to protect his $130 million.

“In my understanding, that’s the commission,” he said.

Lozada said it was then that he told Abalos “bubukol ho ito,” which is why Neri later told him to “moderate their greed” and that $65 million would be a more reasonable amount.

The actual contract price for the NBN-ZTE deal was around $200 million, but was eventually approved at $329 million, he added.

Associate Justice Jose Hernandez asked Lozada why he was working for Neri as a personal technical adviser for free.

In response, Lozada said he was willing to help Neri as a friend, who aided him in the case of his brother who was killed in 2001.

He had a legitimate source of income since he had a business dealing with information technology, he added.

The anti-graft court also asked Lozada if he didn’t find it odd that he was exercising such authority just by using the phrase “Secretary Neri told me” though he was not even connected to NEDA.

Lozada repeatedly answered that he was trying to help a friend.

Before Lozada took the witness stand, the prosecution also presented former vice president Teofisto Guingona Jr. who identified himself in court as one of those who filed graft charges against Abalos before the Office of the Ombudsman.

He also identified his affidavit, which formed part of the complaint based on the transcripts of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearings.

During cross-examination, defense counsel Gabriel Villareal questioned why the complaint was filed before the Senate was able to complete its investigation and come out with a report.

Guingona said he and other members of a civil society group decided to file the charges because the “main essentials (about the deal) were already revealed to the public.”

Villareal said the Senate Blue Ribbon committee actually recommended the filing of charges not only against Abalos and Neri, but others including Lozada and De Venecia III, who were not indicted, but were rather made witnesses against those actually charged in court.