Ombudsman asked: 'Charge First Couple in NBN-ZTE mess too'

A citizens movement led by former Vice President Teofisto Guingona on Wednesday asked the Office of the Ombudsman to reconsider its decision on the botched $329.48-million ZTE broadband network deal and file charges against the First Couple for their alleged involvement. In a 20-page motion for partial reconsideration, the group Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) said it was “improper" for the Ombudsman to dismiss the complaint against Mrs. Arroyo because the presidential immunity from legal suits does not apply to her. The complainants also said the Ombudsman should include First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo in the charge sheet “in view of the overwhelming evidence against him." Last Thursday, the Ombudsman recommended the filing of graft charges against former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos and incumbent Social Security System (SSS) president Romulo Neri in relation to the allegedly graft-tainted broadband deal the government entered into with Chinese firm Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment (ZTE) Corp. But the decision dropped President Arroyo as a respondent due to presidential immunity from legal suits. For lack of probable cause, the investigating panel also dismissed the complaints against the First Gentleman, several government officials, and executives of the ZTE Corp. President Arroyo stood as witness as Transportation and Communication Secretary Leandro Mendoza signed the deal with ZTE Vice President Yu Yong on April 20, 2007 in Hainan, China. She later aborted the contract on Sept. 22, 2007 after the Senate started looking into media reports that the contract was overpriced by P130 million. Immunity from suit In their complaint, the CCM said that the Mrs. Arroyo’s immunity does not prevent the Ombudsman from hearing and deciding the case because it is not yet the proper forum to invoke immunity from suit. “If, after receiving and evaluating the evidence, the said office finds probable cause to file criminal information, only then will immunity apply," the complainants said. They added that such immunity does not extend to the investigative process to be conducted by the Ombudsman prior to a possible filing of an impeachment case against her at the House of Representatives. They also said Mrs. Arroyo violated Section 3(E) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019) when she allegedly presided over the signing of the deal with ZTE when she knew it was ridden with anomaly. The CCM said that the involvement of the First Gentleman in the mess only showed Mrs. Arroyo’s complicity in the controversial deal. The complainants also said that President Arroyo can still be probed by the Ombudsman because her acts that that gave rise to the initial complaint are criminal in nature, “hence, not covered by immunity." “These actions cannot be considered official acts of the President because they are illegal," the CCM stressed. ’Overwhelming evidence The complainants also said First Gentleman Mike Arroyo violated Section 5 of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act when he allegedly told Jose “Joey" de Venecia III, son and namesake of then House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., to “back off" from the national broadband network project. De Venecia III heads Amsterdam Holdings Inc., a losing bidder in the NBN project, which was bagged by ZTE Corp. through alleged brokering by Abalos and Mr. Arroyo, who have since denied the accusation strongly. Section 5 of RA 3019 says that: “It shall be unlawful for the spouse or for any relative, by consanguinity or affinity, within the third civil degree, of the President of the Philippines … to intervene, directly or indirectly, in any business, transaction, contract or application with the government." The complainants said Mr. Arroyo conspired with Abalos, and exerted his clout as the President’s husband so that ZTE Corp. would have no competitors. The CCM said the First Gentleman’s presence at a meeting with Abalos and Joey De Venecia is “tantamount to using whatever perceived and projected influence he had as a husband (of the President) to interfere with a government contract." - GMANews.TV