Favila hits De Venecia on ZTE ad

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is becoming a laughingstock of foreign investors over the opposition’s continued attempt to revive the national broadband network (NBN) controversy, officials claimed yesterday.

Trade Secretary Peter Favila also denied the accusations in a paid advertisement that the aborted $329-million NBN project was changed from a build-operate-transfer deal to a government-to-government contract during a luncheon between officials of the Chinese firm ZTE Corp. and President Arroyo in Shenzhen in November 2006.

He said the recommendation to convert the project into a government-to-government agreement was made by former Commission on Communications and Information Technology chief Ramon Sales long after the luncheon.

Favila also pointed out that rival bidders particularly businessman Jose de Venecia III, owner of Amsterdam Holdings and son of former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., wanted a government guarantee. 

“If private proponents want a government guarantee, we might as well do it ourselves, it would be more cost-effective and transparent,” Favila said in a telephone interview.

He said that since the aborted project was supposed to be funded through an official development assistance from China, it was understood that the Chinese government would nominate its supplier.

He said if former speaker De Venecia really has something to disclose about the issue, he should have done so a long time ago or tell all now.

“He (De Venecia) should not try to bait the people if he really wants to clarify things,” he said.

The country is getting to be a big joke as far as this issue is concerned, our friends in the region are asking me: ‘what’s going on in your country, you continue to talk about something about nothing,’” Favila said.

“We are becoming a laughingstock in the foreign investor and diplomatic community who are telling us that there is nothing to talk about anymore as far as this issue is concerned,” he said.

He said his foreign counterparts have been wondering why the NBN is being revived when they are busy in their respective governments trying to address the rising prices of oil and food.

Favila admitted the opposition’s efforts to revive the NBN issue have been distracting the government amid a looming food and oil crisis in the country.

He lamented that politicking is getting in the way of the country’s efforts to cushion the effects of rising food and oil prices.