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Friday, February 22, 2008
Justice official says Neri may face raps over NBN deal
MANILA -- Criminal charges may be lodged against Commission on Higher Education (Ched) chairman Romulo Neri if it is found that he willfully violated the confidentiality clause in the broadband infrastructure project.
Neri allegedly divulged the contents of the project proposal to his close confidante, Rodolfo Lozada Jr., the key witness in the Senate hearing on the questionable national broadband network (NBN) deal.
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At the continuation of the fact-finding hearing of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the panel of prosecutors asked National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) assistant director general Ruben Reynoso if Lozada had been tapped as consultant for the project at its conception to determine his role in the entire project review process.
Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar said the details that Lozada disclosed about the US$329-million deal, including the proposals of China's ZTE Corp. and businessman Jose "Joey" de Venecia III's Amsterdam Holdings Inc. (AHI), are considered confidential.
Salazar said Neri may potentially face charges if it is proven that he breached a standing confidentiality agreement over the documents for the negotiation, including the proposals covering the controversial NBN contract.
He said there was no document indicating Neri took Lozada in as a consultant authorized to view documents on the NBN project.
He said that if a government official prematurely divulged something that is considered confidential to a third party, that official can be charged under the Revised Penal Code (RPC) for infidelity in the custody of documents (Article 226) and for revealing secrets (Article 229).
Article 226 of the RPC says the violation is committed by any public officer who shall remove, destroy, or conceal documents or papers officially entrusted to him. It is punishable by up to six years imprisonment and a fine of P1,000 even if the damage to a third party or to the public interest is not serious.
On the other hand, Article 229 refers to any public officer who shall reveal any secret known to him by reason of his official capacity, or shall wrongfully deliver papers or copies of papers of which he may have charge over and which should not be published.
The panel said Reynoso's testimony showed that Lozada, a close friend of Neri, used to make frequent "social calls" to the Ched chairman while he was still director general of Neda.
Salazar, however, clarified that the panel has yet to establish the working relationship between Neri and Lozada and determine if the NBN witness had indeed been hired as consultant at that point.
"There seems to be no written authorization that would entitle Lozada to get a copy of these documents," he said.
But Reynoso said he is not certain if Neri indeed leaked confidential information or documents to Lozada.
"In fairness to Mr. Lozada, he never influenced or intervened with our review process. He is a regular visitor of Secretary Neri, but I am not privy to their conversations about the NBN deal. If there is any negotiation between them, they never included me," Reynoso told the panel.
The Neda official also insisted that the project was advantageous to the government had it pushed through because it would result in savings of P4 billion annually, representing communications and Internet bills.
Reynoso further said the ZTE deal is a potential revenue earner for the government as areas not yet covered by commercial cell phone and Internet providers could request the government to include them in its broadband loop.
Neda's estimated rate of return of investment (ROI) for the US$329 million ZTE project is placed at around 29 percent, meaning the government could have easily recouped its investment.
Reynoso also clarified that the agency's primary task is to "review and comment on completed contracts submitted to them and that background checks are the responsibility of the implementing department or agency."
"From the very moment we laid eyes on the project, it was labeled as a Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) proposal, not ZTE. We relied solely on the presentation of the implementing agency, which is the DOTC. Unless we have reason to believe that there's corruption going on, there's a presumption of regularity in government transactions," he said.
Justice Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda, the panel chairman, said that AHI appeared not really capable of implementing the national broadband project.
Pineda said AHI, having no background in the telecommunications business, cannot hope to match the offer of ZTE financially.
"Based on the witnesses and documents, we have discovered that Amsterdam (AHI) is not engaged in the telecom business but in buy and sell of real estate, shares of stocks, that's why they are called holdings. It's never involved in electronics. It seems they are not financially capable to proceed with and finalize the contract if it's granted to them," he said.
Lozada has confirmed his presence in Friday's 9 a.m. hearing.
For security reasons, the hearing room will be closed to the public once Lozada arrives.
Pineda said Lozada earlier requested that the investigation be done at the Senate but the DOJ insisted it should be held at the DOJ national office in Manila.
"He (Lozada) will have 10 security guards. We said we will fetch him and provide for his security. He agreed that it should be held here. He will be here with two lawyers," he said. (ECV/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (February 22, 2008 issue)
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