Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Mike Arroyo attends Ombud probe on NBN scandal
MANILA -- First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo on Tuesday appeared in the Ombudsman investigation into the controversy where he was accused of receiving kickbacks from the national broadband network (NBN) deal with China's ZTE Corp.
He told the Ombudsman that he should be removed from the list of respondents.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
Arroyo and Commission on Higher Education (Ched) chairman Romulo Neri Tuesday filed their counter affidavits on the graft charges filed by former Vice President Teofisto Guingona.
Also, complainants in the graft charges against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, her husband, and other government officials asked the Office of the Ombudsman Tuesday to subpoena the Chief Executive and explain her role in the aborted NBN-ZTE deal.
Harry Roque, lawyer for Guingona, asked the panel looking into the criminal liabilities of the officials including Neri and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. on the deal to summon President Arroyo and explain her actions on the contract.
Immunity
Roque said while the President may be immune from suits arising from her official acts, the immunity does not include criminal acts.
"In the Estrada v. Desierto, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled that the immunity does not extend to criminal acts, as these were not official acts, she must be subpoenaed," he said.
FG Arroyo in reply to Guingona and his group's complaint said: "The complaint is replete with innuendos, speculations, and false assumptions based on hearsay or, at best unofficial reports that the national broadband project was attended by graft. It is, however, bereft of direct and competent evidence linking me to alleged anomalies."
Neri, for his part, said he could not be made as an accessory to the complaint.
"The allegation that I could be an accessory to the alleged crimes of my co-respondents is factually and legally baseless, and betrays desperate speculation on the part of complainants," said Neri.
"Given the definition of an accessory, I cannot be considered as such. Indeed, all I know is that Abalos told me, that I have 200 in the deal, and as the complaint-affidavit itself will show, I did not accept any bribe nor profited myself or assisted anyone to profit by the effects of any crime," he added in his counter affidavit.
'Special privileges'
Roque and Ibarra Gutierrez III, lawyer for Akbayan party-list Representative Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel, another complainant in the case, fired at the members of the panel for allegedly violating the rules of the Ombudsman by according "special privileges" to the respondents.
Both cited the decision of the panel to give the respondents another five days to file their counter-affidavits on the complaint of Baraquel and on the similar charges filed by lawyer Ernesto Francisco, although their deadline had lapsed last February 28.
"The process is already tainted. If they cannot even follow their own rules of procedure, a suspension of the hearing until a more credible panel is established is better," Gutierrez said.
Baraquel added: "The deadline imposed by the panel on Mike Arroyo and Abalos to respond to the allegation has already lapsed, and yet no action has been taken by the panel. The panel is treating the Arroyos and Abalos with velvet gloves."
Roque further said the Ombudsman panel is determined to delay its action on the consolidated complaint even to the point of "rewriting its own rules."
He said the complaint is a litmus test for the Ombudsman to prove whether Filipinos can still trust it.
But panel member Deputy Special Prosecutor Robert Kallos said the five-day period was given to the respondents "in the "interest of justice." (Sunnex)
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