De Venecia absolves self in possible $503-M Northrail anomaly

Former speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. absolved himself in the controversial $503-million Northrail project and said it was President Arroyo and her top officials who should be held to account for any irregularity in the project.

“How come up to now, not one single kilometer of rail has been built? President Arroyo has to do a lot of answering. So this is a case of failure in good governance. You cannot say that the fault lies with the government of China. This project is aboveboard, clean,” he told the House committee on justice.

“How can I ask a commission from the Chinese government when we were begging them to come in?”

“I went to the Chinese leaders to see whether they can rebuild the railways that have been abandoned for 35 years. And the only government willing to do this project was the government of China, and it took them only three years to finally agree,” De Venecia said.

House Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora was unimpressed. The San Juan congressman merely smiled and shook his head in obvious disagreement, when asked why was Northrail included in the impeachment complaint if it was indeed aboveboard.

“(Former PNR general manager Jose) Jun Cortez, Trade Secretary Peter Favila and (former socioeconomic secretary and now SSS president Romulo) Neri have a lot of explaining to do on this,” he warned.

De Venecia cleared former finance secretary Cesar Purisima, former foreign secretary Delia Albert and incumbent Foreign Affairs chief Albert Romulo of any criminal liability. “They are clean on this project.”

Apart from De Venecia, other endorsers who made a “recital of facts” were Reps. Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela, Satur Ocampo and Teddy Casiño of Bayan Muna, Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis and Teofisto Guingona III of Bukidnon.

“He’s not credible because he’s violating the law. The Constitution says that the four highest officials of the land, I think up to fifth degree of consanguinity, should not engage in government projects,” Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said of De Venecia.

“It’s now clear why JDV only revealed it now, because he knew from the very beginning that it won’t hold water. It is a last gasp of a dying man to hold on to something, but it is useless now,” said Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III.

Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez, an administration ally, also defended Mrs. Arroyo’s China visit, saying it was part of her job as Chief Executive. “Even the world’s superpowers court investments from this emerging economic titan (China).”       – With Cecille Suerte Felipe