6th PLUNDER CASE FILED VS GMA ON ZTE DEAL / GMA CAMP BELITTLES PLUNDER CASE
[2009 PHOT0 SHOWING Makabayan Coalition leaders and partylist solons Satur Ocampo, Liza Maza, Teddy Casiño, Rafael Mariano and Joel Maglunsod led some 60 rallyists in a peaceful protest calling for immediate pullout of all US troops, logistics and war materiel from the Philippines. The lawmakers said that the continuing presence US troops and its involvement in combat operations violates Section 25, Article XVIII of the Philippine Constitution and are acts offensive and inimical to Philippine sovereignty and the interest of the Filipino people.]
MANILA, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011 (STAR) By Michael Punongbayan - Party-list Reps. Teddy Casiño of Bayan Muna and Liza Maza of Gabriela filed new plunder charges yesterday against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo before the Office of the Ombudsman for her alleged involvement in the cancelled $329-million national broadband network (NBN) contract with Chinese firm ZTE Corp. in 2006.
The latest complaint over the NBN-ZTE deal was the sixth plunder case filed separately at the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Arroyo.
Casiño, Maza, and another complainant, Maria Carolina Pagaduan-Araullo, also included in the complaint Arroyo's husband Jose Miguel Arroyo, former transportation secretary Leandro Mendoza, and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos.
The Office of the Ombudsman, which was then headed by Merceditas Gutierrez, had cleared in August 2009 Mr. Arroyo and Mendoza of criminal liability with regard to the botched NBN contract between the Arroyo government and ZTE Corp.
Abalos, however, is already facing graft charges before the Sandiganbayan together with former socioeconomic planning secretary Romulo Neri.
Arroyo was not even investigated by the Ombudsman on the NBN-ZTE deal due to her immunity as a sitting president.
The complainants accused Arroyo, her husband Mike, Mendoza, and Abalos of conniving with each other to amass, accumulate and acquire ill-gotten wealth in the amount of at least $35 million or P1.4 billion by receiving commissions or kickbacks from ZTE Corp.
The Chinese firm bagged the project to set up a broadband network to connect all government agencies in July 2006 through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) without the conduct of a public bidding.
The complainants said the case they filed is based mainly on the facts gathered by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee's investigation on the NBN-ZTE deal where the contract was found to be overpriced by around $200 million.
It was also during the Senate probe that whistle-blowers Rodolfo Lozada Jr. and Jose de Venecia III revealed how the whole deal was tainted with bribery, kickbacks, and commissions.
GMA: Charges have no basis
Former president Arroyo said the latest plunder charges filed against her and her husband have no basis since she scrapped the NBN-ZTE deal before it could be implemented.
Speaking through her legal counsel Raul Lambino, Arroyo said the contract was cancelled "and there was no damage or loss incurred by the government in that aborted transaction."
"Again, this is another political grandstanding by said groups to keep on persecuting the Arroyos in the media in order to advance their respective agendas," Lambino said.
He recalled previous investigations into the deal cleared not only the Arroyos but also other officials involved in the contract.
Arroyo is currently recuperating from her spinal surgery last month.
Mr. Arroyo said the complaint was filed "all in the name of media mileage."
He said the issues on the NBN-ZTE deal "had already been heard and passed upon by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2009."
The Ombudsman at that time was Merceditas Gutierrez, who resigned earlier this year after the House of Representatives impeached her.
President Aquino had appointed retired Supreme Court associate justice Conchita Carpio-Morales as new Ombudsman.
"I and the former President have already been cleared of the same charges being filed now. Clearly a case of administrative res judicata which could and should be dismissed outright," Mr. Arroyo said.
"We are being accused of plunder in the ZTE contract but the public should be reminded that it was cancelled by the former president before it could be implemented. Since it was cancelled, there was no injury to the government. There was also no personal gain whatsoever. So where is plunder there?" he said.
He said the militant groups filed the complaint not to seek justice but to gain publicity as they know the case will not prosper.
The same leftist groups filed a complaint against his wife before the Department of Justice on the same issue, said Mr. Arroyo.
"It is quite obvious that these groups are milking the issue for all it's worth. All these allegations against us are good only for the headlines but have absolutely no substance," he said.
Assistant Ombudsman and spokesman Asryman Rafanan said the new plunder complaint that was personally received by Ombudsman Morales will follow the rules of procedure of the Office of the Ombudsman.
He said that under Section 2, Rule II of Administrative Order 7, an investigating officer would evaluate the allegations.
After looking into the charges, the Office of the Ombudsman's rules of procedure said they might be dismissed outright for lack of palpable merit, referred to respondent for comment, endorsed to the proper government office or agency which has jurisdiction over the case, forwarded to the appropriate office or official for fact-finding investigation, referred for administrative adjudication, or subjected to a preliminary investigation.
Aside from the latest plunder charges, the other cases include the plunder charges filed by Akbayan party-list group members against Mrs. Arroyo before the Ombudsman over the P728-million fertilizer fund scam. Former solicitor general Frank Chavez also filed plunder charges against the former president before the DOJ over the same fertilizer fund anomaly.
Akbayan and retired Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim also filed plunder charges against Arroyo before the Ombudsman over the intelligence fund scam at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
Arroyo is also facing two more plunder charges at the DOJ.
Chavez filed a complaint against Arroyo over the alleged diversion of P550 million from the fund of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
Tax investigator Danilo Lihay-Lihay also filed a complaint against Arroyo for the alleged anomalous sale of P1 billion worth of prime property near the Iloilo City airport.
On the other hand, the Philippine National Police had filed plunder charges against former first gentleman Arroyo, retired PNP chief Jesus Verzosa, and other police officials over the anomalous purchase of three helicopters worth P104.9 million.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said, "You cannot stop any citizen from filing a case against anyone or former public officials if they believe in their minds that there is a probable cause to indict them for the crime that they are accusing the public official with."
He said they respect the right of Bayan Muna, led by its leaders Casiño, Araullo and Neri Colmenares, "to file cases if they believe graft has been committed."
"But other than that, we are preparing our own charges. Again, on the part of government, we are gathering all the evidence and as soon as we have a case that we believe can stand judicial scrutiny, we will file the cases," Lacierda said.
The Aquino government believes Ombudsman Morales will be fair to all concerned and "look into every case filed before her office," without necessarily issuing favorable rulings.
"We expect Ombudsman Morales to apply the law, apply the facts to the law evenly. Again, the test of fairness is whether you can give due process to your enemy," he said.
"And so, we will leave it to her discretion whether these cases have merit or not," said Lacierda, a lawyer by profession.
Complaint transferred to new Ombudsman
Casiño, Maza, and Araullo said the plunder case they filed yesterday against Arroyo was originally filed at the DOJ in July 2010.
But considering that new Ombudsman Morales had been appointed, they decided to withdraw the case from the DOJ and file it before the anti-graft agency.
"Complainants hope that with the appointment of the new Ombudsman, this particular complaint, among other complaints filed against the officials of the former administration for their involvement in graft and corruption, election fraud and human rights abuses, will be seriously and genuinely investigated and the perpetrators of such a large-scale fraud will be expeditiously and seriously prosecuted," they said.
The complainants said Arroyo should be held liable for plunder and other criminal offenses like violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for receiving $30 million from ZTE Corp. which was allegedly used to fund the 2007 senatorial and local elections.
"In receiving the said amount, Gloria Arroyo definitely took advantage of her position as then President of the Republic of the Philippines and consequently, the chairman of NEDA, which is the government agency tasked to evaluate and approve ZTE's proposal for the NBN project," the complainants said.
Her husband, on the other hand, allegedly "acted in conspiracy with his spouse, Gloria Arroyo, in performing the unlawful acts... which constitute plunder and violation of several provisions under Section 3 of RA 3019."
"One strong indication of said conspiracy is the fact that as a couple, both of them accepted bribe money from ZTE in the amount of $35 million. Another indication of conspiracy is when he took advantage of his being the husband of the President in trying to force JDV (Jose de Venecia) III to 'back off' from the NBN project. Thus, he should also be charged with crimes similar to those for which Gloria Arroyo should be charged," the complaint read.
With regard to Abalos, the complainants said Arroyo's acts show that she and the former Comelec chief were in conspiracy in committing the crime of plunder, considering how the former president allegedly "tolerated" and even "supported" Abalos when the latter allegedly tried to bribe Neri into approving the ZTE deal "by not directing any serious investigation on Neri's revelation that Abalos tried to bribe him with P200 million."
Casiño, Maza, and Araullo said Abalos was desperately lobbying and doing everything for the NBN-ZTE contract to push through allegedly because of the kickbacks he would receive.
They said Mendoza was charged for being "the one who actually signed the anomalous and unlawful ZTE contract on behalf of Arroyo" which means that he also "acted in conspiracy" with the former president "in entering into a contract grossly disadvantageous to the government."
Then Ombudsman Gutierrez had cleared in 2009 Mr. Arroyo and Mendoza of criminal liability regarding the NBN-ZTE deal.
The former ombudsman's 144-page ruling said the criminal complaints filed against the respondents by the party-list group Akbayan were dismissed "due to lack of probable cause" while those of Arroyo were being junked because of her immunity from suit as a sitting president.
The Office of the Ombudsman only ordered the filing of graft charges against Abalos and Neri who are now both facing trial before the Sandiganbayan. - With Paolo Romero, Delon Porcalla
FROM SUNSTAR ONLINE
Arroyo camp belittles new plunder case By Jill Beltran and Kathrina Alvarez Friday, September 9, 2011
[PHOTO - A picture showing a ZTE representative, former COMELEC chair Benjamin Abalos, President Gloria Arroyo, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, and former speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. in a golf course at Shenzhen, China. Photo property of former Speaker de Venecia courtesy of Google images]
MANILA -- The camp of Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo downplayed the filing of fresh plunder case against her and her husband, saying progressive groups are merely playing politics at their expense.
Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casino, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan chairperson Carol Araullo and Makabayan vice president Liza Maza on Thursday filed a fresh plunder case against the former President and her husband Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos, and former Transportation secretary Leandro Mendoza.
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The case, the sixth plunder case against the former leader, was filed before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Related Articles 6th plunder case filed vs Arroyo Palace hits Arroyo's legal spokesman Justice chief mulls placing Arroyo's son on watch list Gloria Arroyo in immigration watch list Arroyo's husband to sue helicopter supplier During the Arroyo administration, the government signed the $329-million deal with China's Zhong Xing Telecommunications (ZTE) Corporation for the country's proposed National Broadband Network (NBN). The agreement was highly questioned for allegedly being overpriced.
The deal was eventually scrapped after a series of Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigations and impeachment cases filed against the former President.
Raul Lambino, the former President's legal counsel, believes that Casino's group is using the NBN-ZTE deal for political grandstanding.
"The NBN-ZTE contract was cancelled by Arroyo and there was no damage incurred by the government in that aborted transaction. Again, this is another political grandstanding by said groups to keep on persecuting the Arroyos in media to advance their respective agendas," he said in a text message.
Mike Arroyo echoed the sentiment of his wife's lawyer, saying the accusations against them are all in the name of media mileage.
"I and the former President have already been cleared of the same charges being filed now. Clearly a case of administrative res judicata, which could and should be dismissed outright. We are being accused of plunder in the ZTE contract but the public should be reminded that it was cancelled by the former President before it could be implemented. Since it was cancelled, there was no injury to the government," he said.
The former First Gentleman also denied that he benefited from the project. "There was also no personal gain whatsoever," he said.
Mike Arroyo was said to have benefited from the botched project after whistleblower Jose de Venecia III testified in a Senate committee hearing that the former threatened him to "back off" from the NBN deal.
De Venecia testified that the actual cost of ZTE's proposal is only $130 million but was later increased to $262 million even though it would only cover 30 percent of the country.
In the plunder case, the complainants stated that the accusations are based mainly on the facts gathered by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee during its investigation of the highly anomalous project.
"(The) complainants hope that with the appointment of the new Ombudsman, this particular complaint, among other complaints filed against the officials of the former administration for their involvement in graft and corruption, election fraud and human rights abuses, will be seriously and genuinely investigated and the perpetrators of such a large scale fraud will be expeditiously and seriously prosecuted," the complainants said.
During his second State of the Nation Address, President Benigno Aquino III appointed former Supreme Court associate justice Conchita Carpio-Morales as the new Ombudsman. Morales's nomination was earlier opposed by the former President for allegedly being biased against her.
The NBN project aimed to connect all government offices throughout the country through a high-speed broadband Internet connection.
The said project is also being considered by the Aquino administration. But this time, local telecommunications providers will be tapped for such project.
Abalos was implicated in the controversy after former National Economic and Development Authority director general Romulo Neri testified that the former offered him P200 million to approve the contract with ZTE.
Former Transportation secretary Mendoza, meanwhile, signed the NBN project contract after Arroyo granted him full powers to do so. Arroyo herself witnessed the signing of the contract.
The case over the NBN-ZTE deal is the sixth plunder complaint filed against former President Arroyo.
Other plunder charges include those filed by tax whistleblower Danilo Lihaylihay for the alleged anomalous sale of the old Iloilo airport property in 2007.
Another case was filed by former solicitor general Frank Chavez for the "questionable" diversion of P550 million in Overseas Workers Welfare Administration funds to PhilHealth during the 2004 presidential campaign.
Chavez also filed another case over the fertilizer fund scam.
Two separate cases were also filed against Arroyo and others over the alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds.
In Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the executive can only observe developments regarding the case filed by party-list lawmakers against Arroyo.
The Aquino administration would concentrate on its own cases to be filed against the Pampanga congresswoman, he said.
"You cannot stop any citizen from filing a case against anyone or former public officials if they believe in their minds that there is a probable cause to indict them for the crime that they are accusing the public official with," he said hours after the lawmakers filed the case.
Lacierda said the NBN-ZTE deal is not among the cases the current administration is looking into.
"We are preparing our own. We are gathering all the evidence and as soon as we have a case that we believe can stand judicial scrutiny, we will file the cases," he said.
Lacierda earlier stressed that they will not file cases that are "half-cooked" and President Benigno Aquino III wants convictions of those who went against the law.
Meanwhile, Malacañang expects that Ombudsman Carpio-Morales will give due process to Arroyo with regard the recent plunder charge against her.
"We expect Ombudsman Morales to apply the law, apply the facts to the law evenly. The test of due process, the test of fairness is whether you can give due process to your enemy," he said.
"Ombudsman Morales also said that the former President can expect honesty, fairness, and due process from her office," he added.
Asked if he thinks the plunder case against Arroyo now has a fighting chance with the presence of Carpio-Morales, Lacierda refused to comment, saying the executive has no control over the Office of the Ombudsman, which is a separate constitutional body. (Sunnex)
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