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Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Criminal raps filed against Abalos over broadband deal
MANILA –- Akbayan party-list Representative Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel on Tuesday filed criminal charges against resigned Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the scrapped National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with China’s ZTE Corporation.
Baraquel accused the former election chief of violating provisions of Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Revised Penal Code (RPC), and RA 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
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Abalos allegedly brokered the grossly overpriced NBN project, which was recently canceled by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The Ombudsman now has jurisdiction over Abalos following his resignation last week.
The lawmaker said Abalos’s testimony and the sworn statement of former National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) now Commission on Higher Education (Ched) chairman Romulo Neri at the Senate hearing on the NBN controversy prove that the erstwhile Comelec chief “brokered the NBN deal and committed (corruption of public officials) to ensure that ZTE would bag the deal.”
Aside from corruption of public officials, defined and penalized under Article 212 of the RPC, Baraquel claimed Abalos also violated Section 3, paragraphs “a” and “h” of RA 3019.
Paragraph “a” penalizes government officials “persuading, inducing or influencing” another public officer to commit a criminal offense in connection with the official duties of the latter.
Paragraph “h” prohibits members of constitutional offices like Abalos from intervening in any business, contract or transaction directly or indirectly.
The complaint filed by Baraquel did not cite though any particular provision in RA 6713.
Neri testified before the Senate that Abalos offered him a P200-million bribe to favor the Chinese telecommunications firm for the NBN project.
He said Abalos offered him “200” while they were in a golf cart at the Wack-Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City.
Baraquel said the NBN investigation and the resignation of Abalos would be for naught if the nation could not hold him accountable through an impartial trial.
“We need to hold high officials like Abalos accountable for an anomaly that could have cost the nation billions of pesos of public funds,” she stressed.
She added: “This is the only acceptable closure to the NBN controversy.”
At the same time, Baraquel reiterated her call for Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to inhibit herself from handling any case filed against Abalos, citing her possible bias for President Arroyo’s appointees.
Gutierrez is also an appointee of the President. She was appointed Ombudsman in 2004 after serving as chief presidential legal counsel.
“It is a question of delicadeza, an act of prudence because many see her closeness to the First Family as a cause of concern. She was a classmate of First Gentleman Jose Miguel ‘Mike’ Arroyo and appointee of the President, and these alone could raise questions on the impartiality of the Ombudsman as an institution,” said Baraquel. (Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pangasinan. (October 10, 2007 issue)
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