After Garci ringtone comes ‘AB-ZTE-FG’

Another controversy deserves another good ring tone.

And so, creators of the “Hello, Garci” ring tone have come up with another timely jingle that may again be a hit among cellphone users.

Consumer organization TXTPower launched Monday night the “AB-ZTE-FG” ring tone amidst controversy surrounding the National Broadband Network (NBN) project of the government with telecommunications firm ZTE Corp. of China.

The activist group launched the protest ring tone as it called on the public to remain vigilant over the $329-million “scam” involving persons closely linked to President Arroyo.

Anthony Ian Cruz, president of TXTPower, encouraged the public to download, use, re-post and forward the ring tone “as a sign of our collective anger over the latest scandal to hit the Arroyo administration and demand that the investigation result in the prosecution of bribers, bribe-takers, fixers and influence-peddlers.”

The “AB-ZTE-FG” ring tone is posted at  www.txtpower.org, and free for anyone to download. The ring tone was patterned after the alphabet song.

“Let our call for truth and transparency ring across the country,” Cruz said.

According to Cruz, the ring tone is based on a satirical video posted on YouTube.com, where faces of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, his daughter Luli, Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos, Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza, and businessman Jose de Venecia III were put together in a video in apparent criticism of the controversial NBN project.

The ending statement of the video is a spiel quoting De Venecia III’s claim that Mr. Arroyo had allegedly told him to “Back off!”

The First Gentleman is being dragged into the controversy for allegedly trying to tell De Venecia III, son of Speaker Jose de Venecia, to abandon his bid to undertake the NBN project.

Abalos, on the other hand, was accused by De Venecia III of bribery, to also withdraw from pursuing the project allegedly to favor ZTE Corp., and for allegedly trying to influence the NBN project as he likewise purportedly received bribes from ZTE Corp.

Mendoza is reportedly the principal proponent of the NBN project while Luli issued statements attacking De Venecia III a day after her father was named as the so-called mystery man in the controversy.

TXTPower lamented that the President refuses to cancel the ZTE contract for the NBN project even as her husband is “again caught in the scandal.”

It will be recalled that in 2005, TXTPower created and made popular the “Hello, Garci” ring tone, which was based on the audio taped telephone conversations allegedly between Mrs. Arroyo and then Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

Meanwhile, the Laban ng Masa coalition urged the Arroyo administration to expose all other transactions with China under its $1.8-billion loan package for the Philippines to ensure transparency in the wake of alleged controversies in the NBN-ZTE contract, agribusiness projects, and CyberEd program.

Joel Rocamora, chairman of Akbayan, said there is also a need to review policies that limit the oversight powers of the legislature, stressing that the legislative branch’s capacity to examine government transactions, especially agreements entered into by the executive, should be strengthened to help ensure transparency in Philippine governance.