Thursday, February 28, 2008 Espinoza: Quest for truth on the NBN-ZTE deal By Elias L. Espinoza Free Zone
TRUTH, in Christian Science, is God, or one that corresponds to reality.
Critics of the Arroyo administration are seeking truth, not God, in the cancelled NBN-ZTE broadband deal. What muddled this search for truth, however, is the demand by the opposition for President Arroyo to resign.
The search for truth on the NBN-ZTE deal and the call for the President to resign are contradictory. Let the truth come out first before asking her to leave the office. Convicted (but pardoned) plunderer Erap Estrada does not even want the President to resign because he wants her impeached also.
For all we know, the President may have been left in the dark on the transaction by her alter egos that included former Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos. I am not saying there is no anomaly in the broadband deal. But as a lawyer, I was taught that, to establish probable cause, there must be enough evidence just short of proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Malacańang mouthpieces were partly right. Rodolfo Lozada’s testimony in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee was hearsay because it was not backed by documentary evidence or corroborated by another witness.
Dante Madriaga, the latest witness to surface, only muddled the Senate probe. While his testimony is damaging to those allegedly involved in the deal, it was hearsay as he claimed he was merely told about it by Fan Yang of ZTE Corp.
Joey de Venecia III and Lozada do not even know Madriaga. So where did he come from? Granting he knew the deal, his testimony needs corroboration or documentary support for it to have legal legs to stand on.
But if the intention is only to throw mud at the “greedy group” he identified in the broadband deal, then the purpose of letting Madriaga testify was attained. The testimonies of Lozada and Madriaga will not hold water in the courts. For the opposition, however, those involved, including the President, are already guilty.
According to the primer on the NBN-ZTE controversy that Secretary Cerge Remonde gave me, ZTE provided the best in design and price compared with that of de Venecia of Amsterdam Holdings, Inc.
NBN-ZTE’s $329 million offer is better than that of de Venecia’s $242 million proposal because the latter only covers 30 percent of second and third class municipalities. ZTE offered to cover all, up to sixth class towns.
Joey spilled the beans on the alleged bribery and overpricing in the deal only after the Department of Transportation and Communication rejected his offer.
The broadband deal could have brought information services to far flung villages not served by private networks. It would also have reduced the number of government calls and messages using public telecom networks.
President Arroyo cancelled the NBN-ZTE deal on Oct. 2, 2007 without paying a cent. The issue did not die down, however. Instead, it sparked calls for the President to resign even if allegations of bribery and overpricing have yet to be proven.
Justice is not only for the aggrieved party but also for the accused. We should not overlook the fact that a Senate inquiry is in aid of legislation and is not a public trial against those named in the alleged NBN-ZTE scam.
As for the opposition, it should not let hatred rule the mind and in the process disregard one of our most sacrosanct constitutional rights–--the presumption of innocence---that President Arroyo is also entitled to it.
