Lawyer warns of whitewash in NBN probe

MANILA, Philippines – A complainant in four of seven criminal cases involving the $329-million national broadband network deal with Chinese ZTE Corp. has warned of a possible whitewash in the Office of the Ombudsman’s investigation.

First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo is accused of graft in four of the criminal cases, while former elections chairman Benjamin Abalos faces graft charges in six.

Lawyer Ernesto Francisco Jr. said investigators of the Office of the Ombudsman should not incorporate into their probe the results of the parallel investigation of the Department of Justice.

“The (Office of the) Ombudsman cannot put weight to that finding of DOJ without being charged of making itself a party to a whitewash,” he said.

Francisco said the DOJ investigating panel has no credibility to give inputs to the investigation of the Office of the Ombudsman.

“The DOJ panel does not have the competence and technical expertise to conclude that there was no overprice,” he said.

“Besides the DOJ with (Secretary Raul) Gonzalez at the helm is not an impartial body.”

The DOJ panel has reported there was no overprice in the NBN project and that former speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. should be charged with graft.

Francisco is optimistic that the Office of the Ombudsman would find probable cause in the complaints against Arroyo and Abalos.

By doing so, the anti-graft agency would be able to regain its credibility that has been reportedly under question, Francisco said.

On the other hand, Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus Jr. said once they received a report on NBN-related criminal cases from the DOJ, they shall incorporate it with the complaint against the De Venecias (Jose and son Jose III) and be acted upon appropriately. 

However, he did not state that their panel would “most likely recommend the filing of charges against De Venecia” as wrongfully reported yesterday, he added.

De Jesus said the special panel would still meet “to determine if there is need for further clarification on the cases through hearing.”

The findings and recommendations of the DOJ could be raised during the meeting, he added.

The Ombudsman official has been conducting its own investigation on the involvement of De Venecia in the NBN controversy, along with other complaints against Arroyo and Abalos.

One of the seven cases being consolidated by the special panel of the Office of the Ombudsman is a graft complaint filed on Oct. 8, 2007 by lawyer Ruel Pulido against De Venecia and his son in relation to alleged anomalies in the NBN deal.

The anti-graft agency is expected to resolve before yearend all seven NBN-related complaints.

The investigating panel is comprised of Overall Deputy Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro, chairman; Deputy Ombudsman Emilio Gonzalez III, Deputy Special Prosecutor Robert Kallos, Assistant Ombudsman Rodolfo Elman and Director Caesar Asuncion, members.

The seven NBN-related complaints are:

• A case filed by the National Bureau of Investigation against Emmanuel Ang, the commercial attaché who supposedly lost the NBN contract the night after it was signed in Boao, China, on April 21, 2007.

• A criminal complaint lodged in August 2007 by Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla against Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza and two assistant secretaries for “giving undue advantage” to ZTE, whose executives were also named respondents.

• A request by lawyer Francisco on Sept. 24, 2007 for the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the President’s husband and Abalos on their alleged links to the deal.

• A graft complaint filed Oct. 8, 2007 by lawyer Pulido against then Speaker De Venecia and his son Joey, the businessman who was the original whistleblower on the alleged anomalies in the NBN deal.

• A graft complaint filed the following day by Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, this time against Abalos, for allegedly brokering the deal and bribing a Cabinet official and a businessman to ensure that the project would push through.

• The criminal complaint filed by former Vice President Teofisto Guingona and other quarters against Arroyo, describing the doctrine of presidential immunity as an “old, archaic” rule that applied to the kings of the past.

• A complaint filed Feb. 8 by Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption party-list Rep. Joel Villanueva against the First Gentleman and Abalos.   – Edu Punay