Ex-Army chief denies JDV III 'kill' plot 'tale'

Retired Army chief Jaime de los Santos on Tuesday afternoon denied passing information about an alleged plot to murder businessman Jose "Joey" de Venecia III amid the controversy over the $329.4-million ZTE deal. Delos Santos, who retired from the Armed Forces with the rank of lieutenant general, denied telling De Venecia about a supposed murder plot hatched by three former police generals. He added that two of the officials accused by De Venecia of masterminding the plot – Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza, Transportation assistant secretary Reynaldo Berroya – are men of high integrity. "I know my classmates Secretary Mendoza and assistant secretary Berroya. They are professional, patriotic and nationalistic fellowmen and competent leaders," he said. Delos Santos, Berroya and Mendoza are all members of the PMA Class 1969. Director Ricardo Dapat of the Bureau of Corrections was also tagged in the alleged assassination plot. Earlier in the day, De Venecia said Delos Santos was the "good man" who warned him and the former's father, House Speaker Jose de Venecia, about the alleged murder plot. The younger De Venecia said the alleged meeting took place on October 19 at the House Speaker's house in Makati City. Delos Santos said he met the younger De Venecia during an October 16 symposium at the University of the Philippines (UP). "I was invited in the event because I was a former president of the (UP Alumni) association. I saw Joey at the event and I introduced myself to him and that's all," Delos Santos claimed. While saying that he indeed meet visit the House Speaker's home, the topics discussed had nothing to do with an alleged murder plot. He said he talked about his moral recovery plan with the elder De Venecia, while Joey was present merely as an observer. De Venecia said he was aware of the risks that Delos Santos was taking in making the alleged revelation. "General Jimmy delos Santos was worried for my welfare and my father's welfare ... Lieutenant Gen. Delos Santos is a good man and I know that there may be possible repercussions by referring to him in this report," the younger De Venecia said. He added that, "General De los Santos told us (my father and I) that I, Jose de Venecia III, am a target for elimination. The elimination plot was supposed to include my father Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr, but the generals plotting this elimination felt that it is very difficult to eliminate the Speaker as he is too high of a target and is the fourth most powerful man in the land." As this developed, Mendoza dismissed De Venecia's allegations as "baseless and ridiculous." Thompson Lantion, chief of the DOTC-attached Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), read Mendoza's statement during the briefing. It said: "The claim of Joey is completely ridiculous and another fairytale. He is not only a sore loser but also a peddler of fairy tales." A piqued Berroya called on De Venecia to seek treatment for "paranoia." "He should seek the help of a psychiatrist or better a witch doctor to have his mind checked," he said. During earlier Senate hearings, the younger De Venecia accused resigned elections chair Benjamin Abalos of offering a $10-million bribe in exchange for dropping a bid for the national broadband network (NBN) project. First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo allegedly served as a backer for Abalos. Joey has claimed that the First Gentleman warned him to "back off" from pursuing a contract to develop the NBN. He is a stockholder in Amsterdam Holdings Inc. (AHI), a losing project proponent. The NBN project was awarded to China's ZTE Corp. but was eventually canceled amid allegations that the deal was marred with anomalies. Mendoza signed the deal in behalf of the Philippines on April 21 in Baoa, China. - GMANews.TV