Wednesday, September 19, 2007 JDV son names Mike Arroyo as mystery man
THE son of House Speaker Jose de Venecia, who lost a government broadband contract to a Chinese rival, testified yesterday that the President’s husband and the elections commissioner improperly tried to persuade him to abandon the deal.
The Supreme Court last week ordered a temporarily halt to the $330-million contract with Zhong Xing Telecommunication Equipment (ZTE) Corp. amid allegations of bribery and overpricing.
Joey de Venecia III, co-founder of the company that lost the bid, told a Senate investigation that Elections Commissioner Benjamin Abalos and Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo were involved in trying to persuade him to abandon the deal.
He said under oath that during one meeting, Mike Arroyo shoved a finger in his face and told him to “back off” from the deal.
“It was the first gentleman who told me to back off,” said de Venecia, co-founder of Amsterdam Holdings (AHI) Inc. He said the President was not involved and may have not been aware of her husband’s “bullying.”
Newspapers reported that Mike Arroyo left the country Monday on a trip to an undisclosed location. His lawyer, Jesus Santos, said he was on “delayed vacation,” and that he “does not, and will never, interfere in any government transaction.”
He did not deny Mike Arroyo’s presence at the meeting with de Venecia.
President Arroyo ordered Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza to explain the contract at the Supreme Court.
“In a democracy, it is natural to have a clash of views and positions,” she said in a statement. “What is important is there are courts and processes under the law to decide a deal in a peaceful way, in accordance with law and evidence, without politicking.”
Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, confirmed that the first gentleman will be summoned to appear in the investigation.
Presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo said Joey did not accuse his father of involvement in any wrongdoing.
Instead, Mikey said Joey told the Senate committee that the first gentleman had asked him to back off from the broadband deal following its awarding to ZTE.
“Joey never said my father was in the middle of the negotiation. It’s saddening to hear this because my father is still recuperating,” he said.
The House Speaker stood by his son, saying the expose is in the name of national interest.
“In this issue, both my son and the first gentleman must be transparent to our people. The people have the right to know the truth, nothing less. Only the truth….the truth,” said de Venecia Jr.
Joey said his company should have won the contract because it submitted the first complete unsolicited proposal for the project and offered to build the national broadband network at no cost to the government, unlike the ZTE deal that required the government to secure a $330-million loan from China.
“It was Chairman Abalos who was pushing for the ZTE proposal,” de Venecia said. “It was also Chairman Benjamin Abalos who stood to receive for himself any kickbacks from the colossal overpricing of the NBN project.
“Neither I nor my foreign partners would accede to a sweetheart proposal that was riddled with graft, corruption and the massive plunder of taxpayers’ money,” he said.
ZTE issued a statement last week in which it denied any irregularities in the contract.
Abalos and other officials boycotted yesterday’s hearing. Abalos did not explain his absence, but other officials invoked a presidential decree barring them from testifying without Arroyo’s permission.
He earlier said the Senate cannot order his arrest since he heads a constitutionally independent body, the Commission on Elections.
The revelations were the latest to hit the scandal-ridden President’s husband.
Mike Arroyo, an attorney from a prominent family, has no official powers but is regarded as an influential back-room operator and a vocal backer of his wife against political rivals.
Two years ago, media reported that he was influence-peddling and receiving illegal gambling kickbacks at the same time that allegations broke that his wife had fixed the 2004 presidential election.
He denied the allegations, but left the country for three months to ease the political pressure on the President. (AP/Sunnex)
