JDV, not Arroyo, ‘masterminded’ ZTE, Northrail - solon

MANILA, Philippines - A lawmaker on Tuesday accused former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr of "masterminding" at least two allegedly anomalous transactions with China that were used as bases for the latest impeachment complaint against President Arroyo. Before the House plenary began its discussions on the complaint, Bacolod City Rep. Monico Puentevella presented documents showing De Venecia's endorsements of the ZTE national broadband network and North Rail projects. "The mastermind behind almost all of the big Chinese projects in this country in the last seven years is JDV--Jose de Venecia, including the North Rail and ZTE as proven by these papers I am holding right now. He was the one who endorsed all of these projects and now he blames it on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo," said Puentevella in a press conference. Among the documents is a Dec. 4, 2006 letter from one Ernesto Garcia addressed to Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) Secretary Leandro Mendoza. Garcia claimed in the letter that he is working closely with De Venecia's son Joey on the national broadband network project and that he was instructed by the former Speaker to forward another letter related to the project. Another is a March 1, 2006 letter to Chinese ambassador Li JinJun thanking the Chinese official for taking the time to discuss economic projects, including the North Rail project, between China and the Philippines. The letter, written by Trade Secretary Peter Favila, then Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, and then Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, was endorsed by De Venecia, Puentevella said. Puentevella said that instead of praising De Venecia for his testimonies during the Justice committee's hearings on the impeachment complaint, he should be held liable for violating the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. "I understand that PGMA only went to Shenzen to play golf and meet the ZTE officials upon the persuasion of JDV. Why? If only to help his son acquire the ZTE project and earn millions. Dapat nga akusahin natin si JDV dahil anak ni mismo ang tinulungan niya na ma-acquire ang project na ito ayon sa Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, tapos gusto pa nilang lumabas na sila ang mga bagong bayani?" said Puentevella. ("We should accuse JDV of violating the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act vecause he tried to help his son acquire the project. Why are they trying to come off as the new heroes?") He also questioned the timing of De Venecia’s disclosure regarding last year’s alleged bribery of congressmen. "Kung totoong mayroon mang nambigay ng bribe dito, ang tatay niyan ay si JDV dahil siya ang aming pinuno. Ang tagal mo namang magsauli ng P500,000 mo. Ilang taon mo bago maalala. Sinasali mo pa ang simbahan sa laro na ito," said Puentevella. ("If it is true that there was alleged bribery here, JDV must have led it because he was our leader then. Why did it take him years to return the P500,000? He's also implicating the Church in the issue.") During the hearings, De Venecia admitted to being offered P500,000 to endorse what he called a "sham and bogus" impeachment complaint against President Arroyo last year. He said he had planned to donate it to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. De Venecia had also admitted to finding a way to get China to do the North Rail project as other countries like Canada, Italy, Germany, France, and Korea declined because thousands of squatters would be affected. "Not all of them wanted to touch the railways because there were 40-50,000 squatters on the railroad tracks...The only government willing to undertake this project was the government of China... It took them two to three years to finally agree," said De Venecia. De Venecia said the President, Neri, and Favila should explain why the North Rail railway system has not been built even though the Philippine government entered a contract with the Chinese government four years ago. - GMANews.TV