Plunder case vs GMA readied

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo will most likely face a plunder case a day after stepping down from the presidency next week. Militant groups led by Bayan Muna are planning to file the case with the Office of the Ombudsman next Thursday. Mrs. Arroyo leaves the presidency at noon on Wednesday after nine years in office.

Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño told reporters yesterday that plunder charges would be filed against Mrs. Arroyo in connection with the government’s botched $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal with Chinese firm ZTE Corp.

He said Bayan Muna lawyers led by Rep. Neri Colmenares are now preparing the complaint.

“Aside from plunder, we are considering filing charges against her for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Government Officials and Employees,” he said.

He said Colmenares’ group is studying whether there is basis to include in the charges First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza and other officials involved in the deal.

As for former chairman Benjamin Abalos of the Commission on Elections and former economic planning secretary Romulo Neri, Casiño said they might not be included in their complaint as the two are already facing graft charges before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the deal.

He added that the ZTE-NBN complaint is just the first in a series of criminal cases they would file against Mrs. Arroyo.

“She has to account for her alleged involvement and actions in anomalous deals and irregularities like ZTE-NBN, the fertilizer scam and the ‘Hello, Garci’ vote rigging scandal in 2004-2005,” he stressed.

He pointed out that the outgoing president was able to avoid charges related to these controversies because she is enjoying immunity from criminal prosecution while in office.

Asked what chances their cases would have considering that Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez is a close friend of Mrs. Arroyo and her husband, Casiño said he hoped that Gutierrez would be “fair” once president-elect Benigno Aquino III assumes office on June 30.

“The Ombudsman is not immune from political dynamics. Mrs. Arroyo will no longer be there as president. At the minimum, Ombudsman Gutierrez should be fair,” he said.

He said that Aquino has announced that he planned to talk to the Ombudsman to move the campaign against corruption forward.

He claimed that they would have a strong case against the outgoing president.

“The fact alone that she played golf with ZTE officials who are interested in a government contract is proof that she committed misconduct, which could fall under the anti-graft law and the code of ethics for government personnel,” he said.

The government awarded the NBN deal to ZTE Corp. in April 2007. It was Mendoza who signed the contract for the government in ceremonies in Boao, China attended by Mrs. Arroyo, who was later forced to scrap it due to the controversy it generated.

During the Senate inquiry into the transaction, witness Joey de Venecia III said it was First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and Abalos who were behind the award of the NBN contract to ZTE.

Arroyo and Abalos denied De Venecia’s claim. Abalos also denied Neri’s accusation that he offered him a P200-million bribe so he would approve the deal.

Neri said he reported the alleged bribe offer to Mrs. Arroyo but refused to reveal what the President told him, saying it was covered by executive privilege.