Angara: Crude damage control operation

Sen. Edgardo Angara vowed yesterday that the minority would unmask the brains behind the "demolition job" on the opposition in the telecommunications scandal.

He claimed that the "crude attempt" to link the political opposition to Pacifico Marcelo in a supposed destabilization move against the Arroyo administration is a "damage control operation."

Marcelo had claimed in an affidavit that President Arroyo sought last August to wrest from him majority control of his firm, the Phi-lippine Communications Clearinghouse Inc. The President, who vetoed the legislative franchise of PCCI last summer, denied the charge.

In a sudden twist in the investigation of the allegations by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, a witness claimed that the opposition had offered Marcelo P80 million to link the Arroyo administration to the telecoms scam.

Jonathan Ojano, who identified himself as vice president of one of Marcelo’s firms, quoted Marcelo as saying the P80 million would come from a P200-million destabilization fund of the opposition.

"Slowly, the grand design is being revealed bit by bit. What we see is an operation to hit two birds with one stone: discredit Marcelo and demolish the political opposition," Angara said.

He said that these moves are meant to control any damage that could be wrought on the administration by allegations of high-level corruption.

"There is somebody behind all these crude demolition efforts. We will unravel the brains behind this cheap attempt," Angara said.

Marcelo, testifying under oath, told the Blue Ribbon Committee Friday that he met Angara only for the first time in that committee hearing. He also denied the claims of Malacañang that it was Angara’s law firm, ACCRA, that prepared his affidavit.

Marcelo also refuted the claim of Ojano that the latter is an executive of one of his firms, the International Consultancy Group. He said that Ojano used to hang around his office in Makati to borrow money.

The opposition cast some doubts on Ojano’s claim when, under intense grilling from Angara, Ojano admitted that he does not know the organizational structure of Marcelo’s company. He also admitted that he never had an appointment paper from Marcelo and was never included in the company payroll.

"There is an alarming pattern that practically aims to discredit Marcelo’s charge of top-level corruption, then proceed to the next ridiculous spin — that Marcelo and the opposition are out to destroy the credibility of the Arroyo administration," Angara said.

He pointed to the admission of Ojano that his affidavit was prepared by lawyer Jesulito Manalo, whom Marcelo had claimed to be representing lawyer Avelino Cruz, the presidential legal adviser.

Marcelo said that Manalo approached him last May 2 and asked for 51 percent of the PCCI: 31 percent to be given free and 20 percent to be paid at a premium.

Manalo, a newly appointment secretary of the Bases Conversion Development Authority, denied Marcelo’s claim, saying he has his own law firm and could not possibly represent Cruz.

Manalo said that Marcelo merely consulted him on the possible recall of the presidential veto on the PCCI franchise. He said he told Marcelo that the only way to overcome the veto is through a two-thirds vote of Congress.

Opposition Sen. Tessie Aquino Oreta, meanwhile, said Malacañang should explain why it had to course Marcelo through the backdoor in his scheduled meeting with the President.

"Malacañang should make public the real reason why it decided to invite Marcelo, and why the meeting should be kept secret," she said.

She contended that a mere denial that the President did not seek majority control of PCCI would not suffice.

"That she sought the meeting with Marcelo, and surreptitiously at that already raises a lot of questions and doubts," Oreta added.