Blue Ribbon urged to reopen telecoms bribe hearing

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said yesterday that he has formally asked Sen. Joker Arroyo to hear on any day from Dec. 10 to 14 the testimony of Pacifico Marcelo, majority stockholder of the Philippine Communications Clearinghouse, Inc. (PCCI).

"If Joker will not heed our request to hear the testimony of Marcelo, we will move to remove the investigation from the Blue Ribbon Committee. That is allowed under Senate rules," Pimentel warned.

Arroyo, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, said that Marcelo would have to wait in line "after playing hide and seek with the committee" in investigating the alleged bribery of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo to recall the presidential veto on the PCCI legislative franchise.

Arroyo said that the committee has considered the hearings on the coconut levy, the Philippine International Air Terminal Co. (PIATCO) contract with the government for the construction and operation of NAIA Terminal 3, and the alleged dollar smuggling of Sen. Panfilo Lacson as of higher priority than the PCCI issue.

He added that the committee has already had three hearings on PCCI and nothing came out in those hearings.

Pimentel, however, said the minority senators would press for the creation of a select committee to take over the inquiry into the PCCI controversy if Arroyo will continuously refuse to reopen the hearing on the issue.

Pimentel said that Arroyo may set the new PCCI hearing from Dec. 10 to 14 when the senators will be preoccupied with the bicameral conference on the 2002 budget.

He said that the committee need no longer take up the alleged bribery of the First Gentleman since Marcelo had already cleared Mr. Arroyo.

In an affidavit submitted to the committee last Monday, Marcelo claimed that President Arroyo demanded majority control of the PCCI during a meeting in Malacañang last August. Malacañang, however, denied this, saying Marcelo had misinterpreted the President’s statement.

Pimentel also reiterated his appeal to Malacañang to "stop harassing" Marcelo by threatening him with criminal charges and deportation for possessing American and Philippine passports.

Earlier, Senate President Franklin Drilon said senators should not arrogate upon themselves the power to determine the legality of the mission order of Bureau of Immigration agents in arresting Marcelo.

Drilon said that that function properly belongs to the court.

Meanwhile, Marcelo has described as "a crude form of dishonesty" recent attempts by certain sectors to use his directorship at Philcomsat in linking him to alleged PCCI owner and Estrada crony Jaime Dichaves.

"I was not ejected from the Philcomsat board. The fact is I resigned effective Nov. 21 upon reaching a decision to tell the Senate and the public the truth on the telecoms franchise scandal," he said.

He noted that he has spent much of his professional life in telecoms, leading top corporations in the industry.

"I accepted an offer by the DOTC secretary to serve in the Philcomsat board, knowing I will be serving my country in the area I know best," Marcelo said.

He said moves to connect him to deposed President Joseph Estrada are intended "to give political color to a crime violating the people’s trust."

Marcelo also denounced attacks on his citizenship.

"Another big lie is their claim that I am not a Filipino. Why do you think I decided to tell the truth and face all this harassment? Why do you think I reacquired Filipino citizenship and invested in our country? Because I am a Filipino and I believe in the future of our country," he said.

In a related development, Marcelo has been criticized by several civic organizations in Bicol "for allowing himself to be used as a tool to destabilize the administration of Mrs. Arroyo."

In a two-page manifesto, the groups also disowned Marcelo as a Bicolano, accusing him of engaging in a smear campaign to destroy the image of the President and her family for political and selfish reasons.

"We denounce in strongest terms the key player in this smear campaign," said lawyer Antonio Betito, the coordinator of the civic groups. – With Rey Arquiza