Lacson: ZTE broadband deal could expose RP state secrets

By pushing through with the $329-million broadband deal with Chinese firm ZTE Corp., the government may be setting itself up for wiretapping on a much larger scale than the "Hello, Garci" scandal, that could potentially expose state secrets, Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson warned on Wednesday. "It's bad enough that taxpayers' money is being drained for this project. But the security implications are worse because we may be baring our own souls," Lacson said in an interview on radio station dzMM. On Tuesday, Lacson alleged that the $329-million deal included $198 million in bribes to people he did not identify but described as a Commission on Elections official who would supposedly get $55 million and a "Little One and Big One" with $75 million, along with $68 million to bankroll "election expenses" last May. The government plans to fund the project through a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China. Lacson said he will file a resolution to conduct a parallel Senate investigation focusing on the deal's security aspect. "We can punish corruption but when security concerns are at stake, we're putting ourselves at a big disadvantage," he said. Also, he said he has an informant who is willing to talk about allegations of bribery should he or she be invited to testify. The informant had provided him data on bribes for the ZTE deal. "All I can say for now is that my informant is ready to talk if invited to testify," he said. Lacson said the broadband network will use voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), which he said is not secure as it can be intercepted with the right software. What makes the setup particularly chilling, he said, is that the government will be the primary user of such a network. "We all know that it is easy to monitor VoIP using modern technology, much more so if government agencies are the primary users. VoIP communication is particularly vulnerable because users think it is a secure technology," he said. Lacson said even ordinary cell-phone subscribers can be hit hard because service providers who will lose potential income to the broadband project will likely raise their rates. -GMANews.TV