Gloria Arroyo’s hearing for NBN-ZTE case moved to March

The Sandiganbayan’s fourth division on Wednesday decided to move to March hearings on the graft case filed against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in connection with the botched national broadband network deal entered into by the government with Chinese firm ZTE during her incumbency. Former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. was supposed to testify for the prosecution team during Wednesday’s hearing, but members of the defense team asked for more time to study the anti-graft court’s resolution junking their motion to quash the graft charges against the former President. The Sandiganbayan’s fourth division granted the defense camp’s request and rescheduled the court proceedings on Arroyo’s graft case to March 20. In December 2011, the Office of the Ombudsman filed graft charges against the former President for supposedly approving the $329-million NBN-ZTE contract, despite being “fully aware” of its supposed irregularities. Arroyo pleaded not guilty to these accusations. In 2008, De Venecia said during a congressional probe that the former President herself flew to China in November 2006 to discuss the broadband deal with officials of the Chinese firm. Arroyo scrapped the deal in October 2007 after supposed anomalies on the contract surfaced. Arroyo, who is running for reelection as Pampanga representative, is currently detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center for separate plunder charges she is facing for alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds during her presidency. She was also charged with poll sabotage by the Commission on Elections for her alleged hand in the supposed rigging of the 2007 midterm polls. — BM, GMA News