P172M of fertilizer fund seen as laundered

P172M of fertilizer
fund seen as laundered
Bank accounts link Joc Joc to foundations

Malaya By AMADO P. MACASAET

THE Court of Appeals has affirmed a decision of a Makati regional trial court ordering the freeze of 70 accounts amounting to P172 million which the Anti-Money Laundering Council has said "were found to be a part of a related web of accounts connected with the infamous fertilizer fund scam."
Involved in the alleged money laundering are Jocelyn "Joc Joc" Bolante, former undersecretary of agriculture, Livelihood Corp., two foundations and two officials of Livecor.
The resolution, promulgated Oct. 21, 2008, was penned by associate justice PA Abarintos of the CA’s First Division and concurred in by Conrado M. Vazquez Jr., presiding justice, and Lucas P. Bersamin, associate justice. It was a unanimous decision.
The records of the CA show that in just 15 months, Livelihood Corp. transferred P172 million to a foundation called Molugan.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council discovered that the accounts of the people involved are practically all closed.
The CA resolution states that Bolante, then undersecretary of agriculture, had 23 accounts. Twenty of these accounts were kept in the Bank of the Philippine Islands.
Initial investigation made by the Anti-Money Laundering Council "disclosed that questionable accounts were made involving the accounts of Livelihood Corp. (Livecor), Molugan Foundation, the Assembly of Gracious Samaritans Foundation (AGS), Samuel Bombeo, and Ariel Panganiban."
The resolution does not mention where the money in the accounts of Livecor came from. It transferred twice from its account P40 million and P38 million to the account of Molugan.
All told, Livecor transferred in a 15-month period a total of P172 million to the Molugan account.
(An Internet search yielded no mention of Molugan Foundation or Assembly of Gracious Samaritans except in news reports relating to the frozen accounts.)
There has been dizzying series of fund transfers as shown by the resolution which states that on, April 2, 2004 using the same Livecor transferred P40 million to the account of AGS.
In turn, again on April 30, 2004, a similar amount of P38 million was transferred by AGS to Molugan.
The CA affirmed the findings of the executive judge of Makati regional trial court.
The findings, based on submissions of the AMLC, also state that on April 30, 2004, "Livecor again transferred P20 million to Molugan; that on May 23, 2004 P39,800,000 and on July 19, 2005, another P39.8 million were transferred by Livecor to Molugan."
The CA resolution noted that "during the relevant period (about 15 months in 2004 and part of 2005), Bolante was the acting chairman of Livecor; Samuel Bombeo, on the other hand, was president, treasurer, secretary of Livecor.
The resolution of the CA noted that Bombeo was also the sole signatory for the checking accounts of Livecor, Molugan, AGS, Samuel Bombeo and Ariel Panganiban which are related to the infamous fertilizer fund scam.
Thus, the Makati Court allowed the AMLC to freeze the various accounts, all 70 of them, including those of former undersecretary Bolante.
The CA resolution confirmed the findings of the Makati Court that the series of transfers are "part of the related web of accounts used in the fertilizer scam and were materially linked to the initially discovered accounts of Livecor, Molugan, AGS, Samuel Bombeo and Panganiban.
Bolante sought the lifting of the freeze of his accounts saying that the petition of the AMLC did not have basis.
He told the court that in his memorandum-manifestation "that the suspicious transactions… occurred sometime in April 2004 up to July 2005" when he was not its acting chairman.
He also said he ceased to be a member of the board of Livecor as of Feb. 1, 2003.
Livecor’s own lawyer, Adonis Edgard Angelo Macam, attested to Bolante’s claim.
That’s 14 months prior to the initial transaction of Livecor.
Bolante also said in relation to his account with the PNB that in six board meetings from 14 Sept. 2001 to Oct. 25, 2002, he "merely presided as officer and did not act as chairman.
The CA debunked Bolante’s claim and declared that "the arguments advanced by Livecor and Jocelyn Bolante that the latter was not chairman of the board of Livecor and that he ceased to be a member of the board of Livecor effective Feb. 1, 2003, more than 14 months prior to the initial transactions…of Livecor…is contradicted by the result of the investigation conducted by the result of the investigation conducted by the by the secretariat’s compliance and investigation staff of the anti-money laundering council which disclosed that the questionable transactions were made involving the accounts the of Livercor, Molugan, the assembly of gracious Samaritans, Samuel Bombeo and Ariel Panganiban."
The CA declared it believes "…that these hundreds of millions of pesos was the money reportedly to have been released to the Department of Agriculture upon the request of then undersecretary Bolante allegedly to fund the governments Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) to help alleviate the plight of the Filipino farmers all over the country."
The CA also declared that the report of a Senate committee "confirmed that said program resulted in a fertilizer fund scam, the brains and implementor of which is Jocelyn Bolante."

Senate uncovers COMELEC's P5-B unliquidated cash advances

Senate uncovers COMELEC's P5-B unliquidated cash advances

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/02/2008 10:20 PM

Tables were turned Thursday when officials of the Commission on Elections tasked to defend the agency's request for additional budget became the subject of senators' questioning after it was found out that the COMELEC had almost P5 billion in unliquidated cash advances since 1984.

This prompted finance sub-committee chairman Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago to question COMELEC Chairman Jose Melo about the unliquidated cash advances until 2007.

"What I heard is that even those officials guilty of unliquidated cash advances are still being given cash advance which should not be," the senator said.

Melo, however, defended himself and the current batch of COMELEC officials.

"That was before our time...we will refer this to [the] Ombudsman for prosecution," he said.

Santiago likewise grilled the COMELEC officials present for a Makati Regional Trial Court judge's ruling that gave "due course" to the petition of Mega-Pacific eSolutions, Inc., to delay the return of P1 billion in funds paid by the elections body for the automated counting machines that were never used for the national polls in 2004.

It was learned that the lower court's decision contravened a ruling by the Supreme Court that voided the contract between the COMELEC and Mega-Pacific.

"The Supreme Court had already ruled... that's anomalous," Santiago said.

The COMELEC, meanwhile, said it will file a motion before the Supreme Court for summary judgment that would order Mega-Pacific to refund the agency's money.

At the same time, the elections body proposed a P21-billion supplemental budget for the automation of the presidential elections in 2010.

Committee member Sen. Richard Gordon said this may be feasible since the House appropriations committee has agreed to it.

Santiago, however, said the proposal was overpriced.

"It's just too expensive for a developing country," she said, adding that some basic services may be put aside if the lawmakers agree to the COMELEC's budget request. With a report from Maricar Bautista, ABS-CBN News

Sen. Lacson links Gloria Arroyo to P2.5B Swine Scam

Malacanang Sen. Edgardo Angara won’t investigate her boss Gloria Arroyo in the alleged swine scam. Crocks protect each other.

Ping links Gloria to P2.5B swine scam
BY JP LOPEZ

SEN. Panfilo Lacson will ask the Senate to investigate Quedancor's P2.5 billion Swine Program fund in 2004, saying there is an indication that President Arroyo had a direct hand in the anomaly surrounding it.
"Nang inilipat ni GMA ang Quedancor sa OP (Office of the President) mula sa DA (Department of Agriculture) 'tsaka nangyari ang 'swine-dling'. May indikasyon na may direct hand ang Pangulo sa anomalya ala fertilizer scam," he said.
Quedancor (Quedan and Rural Credit Corp.) was placed under the OP during the elections in 2004.
Lacson said just like the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, the billions of pesos supposedly for the purchase of livestock could have been used to fund the 2004 campaign of Team Unity candidates.
Harry Roque of the UP College of Laws said that the Commission on Audit discovered that at least P1.4 billion of the P2.5-billion fund that Quedancor released for the swine industry remains unliquidated.
He said the farmers who supposedly received the hogs were paid P200 to P300 to sign papers that indicated they received the livestock. Malaya

P900- Million Swine Scam

We should start butchering those two-legged pigs in Malacanang and their cohorts. It appears that the Department of Agriculture was the source GMA’s 2004 election campaign funds. Gloria Arroyo and her cohorts’ allegedly malversed public funds for their personal interest. Joc-joc Bolante‘s P728 M fertilizer scam allegedly used to bribe congressmen and provincial governors to support Gloria’s candidacy. Public funds were diverted to ex-Comelec commissionaire Virgilio Garcillano’s election cheating operations in favor of Gloria Arroyo. The ghost of Hello Garci political scandal keeps haunting bogus Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.


GMA’s involvement in ‘Swine Scam’ seen in EO 322

Daily Tribune 04/03/2008

Where a direct link to President Arroyo in the P3-billion fertilizer funds scam was not quite established, this time, that direct presidential link to the “Swine Scam” is definitively marked with Mrs. Arroyo’s involvement, as evidenced by Executive Order (EO) 322, which effected the transfer of the Quedan and Rural Credit Gurantee Corp. (Quedancor) from the Department of Agriculture to the Office of the President.

Noticeably EO 322 was issued on July 5, 2004.

By August, going back on her word that she would not seek the presidency in 2004, Mrs. Arroyo announced that she would be running for the top post after God had told her He wanted her to run for the presidency.

“The direct hand of Mrs. Arroyo in this Swine Scam cannot be denied, now that the EO 322 has been bared, which was clearly designed for the President to be able to skim off hundreds of millions and divert this amount, most likely to her election kitty,” Harry Roque, a lawyer and critic of the President yesterday, told the Tribune.

“That is the good news (direct linkage),” civil society lawyer Roque said. “The bad news is that since Quedancor has been transferred to the Office of the President, Malacañang can get away with this crime again, just by invoking executive privilege,” he added.

The Supreme Court, voting 9-6, upheld the President’s executive privilege even when a crime is involved.

Roque said the amounts in the hundreds of millions were likely diverted by Malacañang to fund Mrs. Arroyo’s presidential campaign in 2004, stressing that the balance was definitely spent during the election period, as shown by the Commission on Audit (CoA) report.

An even bigger amount has been suspected of having been diverted in 2005, after the EO was issued and Quedancor was ordered transferred directly under the President’s office.

Roque charged that there was P 5 billion in cash, P3 billion which was borrowed from the Land Bank and P2 billion borrowed from Equitable PCI. The collateral was government bonds which Roque said that in case of default, it will be Juan de la Cruz who will again be made to pay up.

The sum of P2.25B was reportedly intended to buy swine for distribution to marginalized farmers on credit. “Like the fertilizer scam, it was conceived and implemented in 2004, a presidential election year,”Roque stressed.

The pattern in the swine diversion scam and the fertilizer funds scam appears to be very similar, in that there were ghost deliveries noted as well as the way the hog farmers were made to sign receipts even when they never got the swine.

He added that a year after its launch, in 2005, the CoA reported that Quedancorp spent 1.66 billion but failed to account for the manner it was spent, which was roughly 60 percent of the amount equivalent to P 747 million.

This amount, he said, was classified as “unrecorded receivables.” The following year, Roque stated, CoA reported that of P1.66 billion, there was only a record that P176 million was actually received by farmers/beneficiaries. This means that P1.5 billion was already stolen, through ghost delivery.

“Moreover, field audit revealed that an almost overwhelming number of farmers were made to sign receipts for swines that they never received for sums ranging from P200 to P300 per signature,” Roque pointed out.

The CoA recommendation, from the documents obtained by Roque, showed that the agency’s recommendation was that action should be taken against those who may be found remiss in the discharge of their duties.

He said that in 2005, the CoA already reported that the collection of P755million was already doubtful. This amount classified as of doubtful collection was increased to P1.1 billion in 2006.

Roque also charged that the procurement of P1.66 billion worth of swines was done without bidding and supplied by four companies with interlocking directors and stockholders and which were not even accredited Swine Breeders Farms by the DA.

“All these companies had no track record as they were all incorporated only in 2003. None of them were accredited by the Bureau of Animal Industry

“All suppliers were paid in full in advance explaining why they all got paid a total of 1.66B when they only delivered 176M worth of swines.

“Further, there was also the ghost delivery of P47M of input supplies.

He noted that in 2006, it was also reported that there was interlocking of shareholders and directors of companies who received and the supplied the swines. Ex: Iloilo Feeds Corp, Nueva Foods and BORKS: NG family: Mary Ann Treasurer of Iloilo feeds, later became Chairman of BIRKS.

Roque also noted that Quedancorp engaged in quasi-banking without authority from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; loans incurred for Swine Program of 2.25 exceeded by P 750M ceiling that were approved by Monetary Board; Overstatement of cash inflow and outflow from Financing Activities: Proceeds:P188M, Payments P 264M; and overstatement of cash position by P195M

Roque said that P2.25B of funds from Landbank which could have been used to increase productivity of rice farmers was lost to graft and corruption on an election year and stated that the current rice crisis being experienced is due to corruption.

He named as responsible the members of the Board of Quedancorp including Agriculture chief Arthur Yap and then DA chief Cito Lorenzo.

Roque also questioned why Yap failed to act on the irregularities when Quedancor was informed of it as early as 2005. He noted an investigation was started only in 2006. By that time, he said, P1.66 billion had already been spent.

Part of the reason for the transfer, as stated in the EO was that which said that “in order to effectively oversee and implement agriculture development activities through an institutionalized and comprehensive financing and guarantee support system for the country’s agricultural sector, there is a need to transfer Quedancor from the Department of Agriculture to the Office of the President, and to reorganize the Government Board thereof” adding that under Section 31, Chapter 10, Title III, Book III of the administrative Code of 1987, the President has the continuing authority to reorganize the administrative structure of the Office of the President.

“With that EO transferring the Quedancor to the office of the President, Mrs. Arroyo can hardly deny that she knew nothing about these billions diverted,” Roque said.


Quedancor has P1.4-billion in unliquidated fund

Philippine Supreme Court Legitimized Kleptocracy

Deviantart

Welcome to kleptocrat nation! The Philippine Supreme Court has legitimized Gloria Arroyo’s kleptocracy-the rule by looters and thieves. The Arroyo government is ruled by Mafia criminals and cronies. It’s lutong makaw! The majority of the magistrates are blind and bias. The Arroyo Supreme Court is a part of wholesale conspiracy of China’s ZTE scam and its clone’s cover-up. In fact, the Philippine Supreme Court legitimized the Arroyo presidency after the 2001 EDSA Dos coup. What national security? What diplomatic matters? The alleged Spratlys sell-out and wholesale conspiracy to commit fraud, bribery, and treachery are covered under Gloria’s executive privilege. Shame on them!

The rule of law is dead under corrupt Arroyo regime. Gloria Arroyo has the rubber stamp do-nothing House of the Representatives, the Supreme Court to justify her misdeeds, the Ombudsman and Department of Injustice to protect her Mafia cronies from prosecution, the military-police to suppress people’s civil liberties and the bishops for their prayers and all-out support. Anak ng jueteng! But no thanks to bribery! Tuloy ang ligaya!

SC Chief Justice Puno dissents
The limits of executive privilege
GMA’s justices uphold Neri’s silence, castrate Senate

CJ Puno: Palace claim of RP-China ties at risk not credible
By Benjamin B. Pulta
Daily Tribune 03/26/2008
The Senate, empowered by the Constitution with the mandate to investigate anomalies in government, and in the Executive branch in aid of legislation, has been effectively castrated by the high court with its ruling issued yesterday involving the invocation of executive privilege.
All of President Arroyo’s men and women in the Supreme Court (SC) appeared to have delivered to her what she wanted: The clipping of the Senate’s powers to investigate, in aid of legislation; to question witnesses and resource persons and demand answers from them; and to cite them in contempt, while upholding the Malacanang officials’ right to invoke executive privilege, and thus evade public accountability even in criminal matters.

The SC yesterday ruled to grant a petition filed by former National Economic Development Authority (Neda) secretary-general now chairman of the Commission on Higher Education Romulo Neri to stop the Senate from compelling him to testify in its investigation into the aborted $329-million national
broadband network project of the government with China’s ZTE Corp.
Voting nine-to-six,the majority of the high court in the decision written by Associate Justice Teresita De Castro agreed with Neri’s claim that the Senate cannot cite any person appearing before legislative inquiries before it in contempt until the upper house passes its rules.
As of 4:00 p.m. yesterday, no official copy of the main ruling was available since it was still being revised, SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said, adding that it runs to some 35 pages.

The main decisions said ,in this present search for truth, we should turn to the fundamental constitutional principles.
The SC said while the three department s of government are considered separate,co-equal,coordinate and supreme within their respective spheres they are imbued with a system of checks and balances to prevent unwarranted exercise of power.
Even the courts are repeatedly advised to exercise the power of contempt judiciously and sparingly with utmost self-restraint with the end in view of utilizing the same for correction and preservation of the dignity of the court, not for retaliation or vindication.

The majority added that the Senate committees should have exercised the same restraint adding that after all petitioner (Neri) is not even an ordinary witness. He holds a high position in a co-equal branch of government.
The SC also pointed out that only a minority of the members of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee were present during the deliberation.
Clearly,the needed vote is a majority of all the members of the (Senate blue ribbon) Committee. Apparently, members who did not actually participate in the deliberation were made to sign the contempt order. Thus , there is a cloud of doubt as to the validity of the contempt order, the SC said.
The tribunal also cited that in letters made by Neri to the Senate, the former include(d) an expression of his willingness to testify again, provided he be furnished in advance copies of the questions.

The dissenting opinion of Chief Justice Reynato Puno was 120 pages long.
Despite the majority vote in favor of the administration in the Neri petition, magistrates of the high court who dissented said a virtual mouthful for the case.
In his separate opinion, the Chief Justice did not give credence to the claim of Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita that the country’s relationship with China may be put at risk if Neri is forced to answer the three questions which stem from a Neri allegation of bribery.
Puno said Ermita has no explanation on how diplomatic secrets will be exposed at the expense of national interest if petitioner answered the three disputed questions propounded by the respondent Senate committees.
Neri, Puno pointed out, also failed to explain during the oral argument on the case how diplomatic secrets will be compromised if the three questions are answered by him.

But even assuming arguendo that petitioner Neri can properly invoke the privilege covering national security and military affairs, still, the records will show that he failed to provide the Court knowledge of the circumstances with which the Court can determine whether there is reasonable danger that his answers to the three disputed questions would indeed divulge secrets that would compromise our national security, Puno noted.
The questions, Puno added, should be answered by Neri as these are pertinent to the subject matter of the legislative investigation being undertaken by the respondent Senate committees.

He noted that the questions to Neri have direct relation not only to the subject of the inquiry, but also to the bills pending before the Senate such as Senate Bill No. 1793 which intends to amend Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act, Senate Bill No. 1794 or An Act Imposing Safeguards in Contracting Loans Classified as Official Development Assistance and Senate Bill No. 1317 or An Act Mandating Concurrence to International Agreements and Executive Agreements.
Puno further stressed that the strength of the executive privilege is weakened by the fact that the subject of the communication involves a contract with a foreign loan, which is not exclusively vested in the President, but is shared with the Monetary Board (Central Bank).

We also consider the chilling effect which may result from the disclosure of the information sought from petitioner Neri but the chilling effect is diminished by the nature of the information sought, which is narrow, limited as it is to the three assailed questions. We take judicial notice also of the fact that in a Senate inquiry, there are safeguards against an indiscriminate conduct of investigation, Puno added.

With all these considerations factored into the equation, we have to strike the balance in favor of the respondent Senate committees and compel petitioner Neri to answer the three disputed questions, he further said.

Spokesman Marquez, quoting the high court’s majority ruling said that since there are no published rules of the Senate’s rules for contempt no person can be penalized with contempt by the Senate until the guidelines are already published.
Marquez said the ban not only covers Neri but in effect also covers other witnesses appearing before the legislature.
It does not limit the power of the Senate but only defines executive privilege he added.

Dissenting from the majority opinion were Puno and Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez, Conchita Carpio-Morales and Adolfo Azcuna.
Carpio however joined the majority in ruling that the arrest warrant issued by the Senate against Neri was handed down in grave abuse of discretion.
The senators ordered Neri’s arrest following his failure to heed their subpoenas for him to appear the Senate inquiry.
The SC ruled that three crucial questions being asked of Neri during the senate proceedings are covered by the rule of executive privilege.
The majority decision said that these questions fall under executive privilege and that the conversations between Neri and the President must remain secret, despite the fact that an earlier SC ruling on EO 464 made it clear that executive privilege does not cover criminal activities.
It was claimed by the majority that for Neri to divulge his conversations with Mrs. Arroyo would put the diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines at serious risk.
Marquez clarified that the SC ruling does not prevent Neri from opting to change his mind and voluntarily testifying before the senate in executive session.
Aside from De Castro those who ruled to uphold the Palace position were Associate Leonardo Quisumbing, Renato Corona, Dante Tinga, Minita Chico-Nazario, Presbitero Velasco, Antonio Nachura, Ruben Reyes and Arturo Brion. All of whom are publicly perceived to toe the Malacanang line.
Brion who replaced Associate Justice Angelina Gutierrez was not yet with the court when the high court held oral arguments on the case last March 4. Marquez clarified that Brion wrote a separate opinion explaining his vote to concur with the majority.
Malacanang was pleased by the decision, saying that the ruling confirmed all along its belief that the Senate had been disrespectful toward the Executive department when it comes to its inquiries in aid of legislation.
What’s good about this ruling is that it emphasized what we have been saying all along that all these time we have been talking about respecting the independence of one another (executive and legislative branches) and (for the Senate) to accord respect to resource persons. In all of this, we have been proven correct. The only reason this Executive Order 464 was ever issued was due to the disrespect (of the Senate) to the Constitution, said Press Secretary and presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye.
For his part, Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said they are now looking forward to the Senate and the executive to work out a mutually acceptable rules on appearances in the senate inquiries of witnesses, in aid of legislation.
With Sherwin C. Olaes and PNA

Major Corruption Scandals Under Arroyo Cost Filipinos Over P7 Billion

Deviantart

What went wrong with Gloria’s fight against poverty? Poor governance and massive graft and corruption in her government sunk the country to drain.

Written by IBON Media
President Gloria Arroyo may indeed be the most corrupt president the country has ever had, based on amounts lost to the Filipino people in just six corruption scandals over her seven years in office.

The six scandals, which include the fertilizer fund scam, the Jose Pidal bank accounts, the Northrail project, the IMPSA power plant project, the poll automation project and the Macapagal Boulevard project, have collectively cost the Filipino people some P7.3 billion pesos.

These amounts could have been used to provide badly-needed education and health services to millions of impoverished Filipinos.

NSCB: More Pinoy families getting poorer
3.8 million more poor Filipinos in 2006 than in 2003

Oust Gloria Arroyo

Photo from Malaya Makati City Interfaith Rally February 29, 2008

Oust-GMA is call in Makati rally

BY ASHZEL HACHERO
AN interfaith prayer rally scheduled this afternoon in Makati City is expected to gather at least 50,000 participants, including former President Joseph Estrada and Bro. Eddie Villanueva, head of the Jesus is Lord Movement.
Estrada, after a "Mass for Truth" yesterday at the University of Makati, said he supports the call of fellow former President Corazon Aquino for the resignation of President Arroyo.

The rally, with the theme "Katotohanan, Katarungan at Pagbabago" and organized by the Church-based group Solidarity Philippines, will be attended by militant, student, opposition and other sectoral groups that have been calling for Arroyo's ouster on the ground she has lost the moral authority to govern.
Rally participants are advised to bring their rain gear as the weather bureau said Metro Manila will have cloudy skies and possible rains.
The three-hour prayer rally at the Ninoy Aquino monument at the corner of Ayala and Paseo de Roxas avenues will start at 5 p.m.

At 2 p.m., Villanueva's group will hold a worship program and later join the rally. Villanueva has reportedly promised to bring 100,000 members.
Other religious groups will gather at the Gabriela Silang monument at Ayala and Makati avenues and march to the monument. The groups include Solidarity Philippines, National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Promotion of Church People's Response, Kapatirang Simbahan para sa Bayan, Kairos Philippines, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, United Methodist Church, Iglesia Filipina Indepen-diente, and the Inter-Faith Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Network.
They will start the march to the monument at 3:30 p.m. An hour later, seminarians from the St. Andrews Theological Seminary would perform the "pattong," a Cordillera unity dance, while the religious leaders walk from the Ninoy Aquino monument toward the main stage.

Militant groups led by Bayan, which has promised to bring 20,000 protesters, will join the rally at 3 p.m. Bayan said it has prepared a 20-foot long effigy depicting Arroyo as a "devil snake" holding a gun and bundles of money.
MALAYA

Bloggers mount EDSA revolution on-line

Resign Gloria Macapagal Arroyo!

Banner from Philippine Experience blogsite

Philippine bogus President Gloria Arroyo has no moral authority to lead our divided nation. Political scandal, scams and anomalous transactions under her inept corrupt regime is no longer acceptable. She is dragging the Senate investigation on Hello Garci political scam and China's ZTE Corp. broadband scam. The Arroyo government is run by thieves and Mafia-like cronies.

IBON Survey: Most Filipinos Want Arroyo To Step Down Due To Corruption Charges

Recent corruption scandals besetting the Arroyo administration have led most Filipinos to call for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to step down, according to the results of the latest IBON survey.
Asked if they were aware of calls made recently by members of the Church and other sectoral groups for Pres. Arroyo to resign from office and face corruption charges levelled against her, 75% of the total 1,503 survey respondents said yes.
Of these, 77.4% said they agreed with such call to step down.
Various interfaith and sectoral groups such as Solidarity Philippines, Concerned Citizens Group, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, among others, have called for a rejection of what they called as Arroyo’s morally bankrupt government.
The IBON nationwide survey was conducted from January 7 to 14, 2008, with 1,503 respondents. It has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.

Oust Gloria Macapagal Arroyo!

Gloria Arroyo has no moral authority to lead our divided nation. Political scandal, scams and anomalous transactions under her bogus regime is no longer acceptable.
What else is new? Impeach me! Coup Me! And now Assassinate Me! I think the alleged Al Qaeda plot to assassinate Gloria Arroyo is just a squid tactics to divert public attention on ZTE scam. Lozada’s expose’ has been in the headlines, talk shows and blogosphere for two weeks. Gloria Arroyo and her cohorts need a breathing space. Why only now? The timing is very suspicious.

Nov.29 Movement: dissent in action
ZTE scam

Elections chief Benjamin Abalos, Sr. Resigns

The resignation of Abalos is a part of Malacanang’s game plan. It’s a calculated Queen’s Knight Sacrifice to save the throne. Elections chief Benjamin Abalos, Sr. is just a sacrificial lamb to absorb the heat from the $329-M ZTE-NBN scam. Paper trails points directly to Malalcanang Palace. Gloria Arroyo and Jose Pidal are held responsible for the ZTE scam. Who's next to resign?


Razon's Hand in ZTE-NBN Deal
Razon now most powerful businessman, says De Venecia son

Smoking Gun: GMA “special authority" document

Arroyo-okayed-talks-with-ZTE-on-NBN-before-NEDA-review

The buck stops at the doors of Malacanang Palace based on paper trails submitted to Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. Congenital liar Gloria Arroyo approved the anomalous $ 329 M ZTE-NBN project. She pretends innocence and lied to the public about “internal-discreet” investigation on P200 M bribery offered by Elections chief Benjamin Abalos to NEDA chief Romulo Neri. Why? There’s no official report and no government agency came forward who did the investigation. It’s too late for Malacanang-led formal probe on ZTE-NBN scam. The Ombudsman, the Lower House and the Senate have already started its investigation.
We expect another cover-up operation at the expense of peoples’ taxes. According to GMANewsTV: Through "special authority" documents she gave two Cabinet secretaries, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo authorized negotiations for the award of the national broadband network (NBN) project to China’s ZTE Corporation, months before the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) started its evaluation of the NBN project, according to official records submitted to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. Here she goes again, lying to her teeth big time.

Other Gov’t Deals With China Also Marred By Bad Loans And Corruption

Conjugal Plunderer

The Bonnie and Clyde of the Philippines
The majority of the Filipino people can no longer stomach the never ending plunder, greed and cover-up. Jose Pidal and his mafia gang have cornered most of juicy government contracts. Even the Arroyo government totally junks the ZTE-NBN, ZTE-Cyber-ed, the crooks and brokers cannot escape from criminal prosecution.

Arroyo satisfaction rating at -11, lowest this year - SWS

Crime Does Not Pay: The Wack-Wack Mafia Conspiracy

Don’t kill the messenger. It’s crystal clear that Miguel and Gloria are directly involved in the ZTE-NBN misdeal. What’s new? Scams, deceit, election fraud and political killings are Gloria Arroyo’s legacy.

Why? Philippine bogus President Gloria Arroyo has allowed Cabinet men implicated in the ZTE-NBN $329.4- M misdeal to attend the Senate inquiry. What’s cooking? Are they sacrificial lambs? The President‘s loyal dogs, Favila-Mendoza-Neri are shock absorbers in the aftereffects of Joey De Venecia’s bombshell at the Senate. I think they cannot save Gloria and Miguel assess. It’s back to back plunder as in AB ZTE FG.

Related links:
‘Mike Arroyo is NBN deal mystery man’
GMA Played Golf with Businessmen Who Bagged Broadband Deal

Abalos’ Golfing Buddy Close to ‘Wiretappers’
Neri to bare all in next Senate hearing on NBN-ZTE deal
Cabinet split on cost, benefits of NBN, overlap with CyberEd
Webcast: DOTC Asst. Sec. Lorenzo Formoso III on $329 M ZTE deal

Ousted Philippine president Estrada gets 40 years jail

Prisoner No. N207P-2677


President Erap’s guilty verdict: It’s crap and political persecution. As expected, the Sandiganbayan Special Division Anti-Graft Court convicted Erap for economic plunder. Gloria Arroyo is next. The Anti-graft court can easily convict her for plunder and money laundering.

The Ultimate Verdict

The tip of the iceberg ZTE-NBN $200 M Scam

The ZTE Corp. broadband $329 misdeal is just a tip of the iceberg. Hello Ben Abalos! Hello Jose Pidal! Hello Gloria! The vultures in the corrupt Arroyo government had a frenzy day. Gloria Arroyo and her cohorts have sold our country to China. Secret deals and anomalous-questionable agreement with China to explore Philippines’ natural resources, mines, alienable lands and sea-aquatic explorations.

In the RP-China Agreements, our government agencies are contractually-bound to look for more than one million hectares of land to be leased out to approximately five Chinese corporations. 1.4 million hectares of land to 5 Chinese corporations. How about the US$ 465.5 million Cyber-education project? Maybe it’s another misdeal. Unfortunately, Filipino taxpayers have to shoulder these behest loans. Death by hanging to traitors!

$200-M plus scam in ZTE-NBN kickbacks bared

By Angie M. Rosales
Daily Tribune 09/05/2007

Once again, corruption reared its ugly head under the Arroyo administration with kickbacks galore amounting to way over $100 million, divided accordingly among a high-ranking poll official, the “Big One” and “Little One.”
“Kickbacks” in the contro-versial broadband contract with Chinese firm ZTE Corp. practically ate up the project’s cost and ended up 300-percent higher than the original or proposed amount, with highly-placed public officials and public figures said to have pocketed the “loot” amounting to over $200 million.
Citing his sources, opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday bared the details surrounding the ZTE deal he dubbed the “great grandmother of all scams,” with some $20 million having already been disbursed, as a downpayment.
Revealing the “break-down” in the botched deal, according to Lacson’s informants, would have been the following: $55 million would go to a Commission
on Elections (Comelec) official; $75 million to two “highly-placed” individuals in government whom he referred to as the Big One and the Little One, $68 million alleged to have been appropriated to form part of the President’s “war chest” in the senatorial polls last May.
“That’s really big. That’s more than P3 billion. That more than enough to kill (defeat) us (opposition senatorial bets) in the (last) elections. Good thing it wasn’t released yet that time,” Lacson said during an interview, referring to the $68 million that would have gone to the administration’s campaign fund.
“Three-hundred percent actually is the overprice for ZTE to win. There is already a profit of $30 million. There was already a full disclosure of the $30 million net profit (because) they (ZTE) would bid at $132 million,” he said, adding that the Chinese firm’s project, in which the government secured a loan from the China Export and Import Bank (Eximbank) recently, would have been fair enough for the administration without the hanky-panky.
“Even at $132 million, it would have been fair enough. An American firm’s offer was even higher, it was at $135 million,” he said.
As Lacson made the disclosure, the Senate is seen to also call for an investigation on this mess, parallel to that already initiated in the House of Representatives.

ZTE Corp. P26-B CyberEducation
Anomalous ZTE contract continues to unravel

Who framed Erap ? Conspiracy at the highest level

The corrupt Arroyo regime is tainted with fraud. Gloria Arroyo and her close political allies have mastered the art of deception and fraud. The Department of Justice, the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the National Achieves Office and other agencies under the Executive Department have deliberately manufactured documents and false witnesses to persecute political enemies.

GMA, aides framed Erap on raps— witness

By Charlie V. Manalo and Eric Dorente

Daily Tribune 08/31/2007

It read like a high-profile list of conspirators, led by President Arroyo, former Ombudsman Aniano Desierto and down the line, banding together to obstruct justice in every way they could.

The plunder case against deposed President Joseph Estrada took on a new twist yesterday as a former action officer of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) presented himself before the Sandiganbayan to reveal how he was coerced by certain government officials to file a case of perjury against the detained leader.

In a Manifestation of Intervention filed by lawyer Cirilo Avila, Federico Manrique bared damaging testimonies on a second perjury case filed by the government against Estrada, the culpability of which may reach the highest office of the land.

In his affidavit, Manrique narrated how he, sometime in the last week of October 2001, was contacted by a lawyer who represented himself as a member of the prosecution team in the Estrada cases.

Manrique said the lawyer convinced him to file another perjury case against the deposed president since the original case filed

by the Ombudsman was deemed to be weak and insufficient in evidence.

The lawyer added Manrique’s complaint against Estrada had to be antedated to make it appear that even before the Ombudsman had filed his own case, “there already was an interested complainant against Estrada.

In so doing, the lawyer said, Manrique’s complaint would negate the growing public perception that the Ombudsman was persecuting Estrada.

The lawyer, who claimed to be working for then Ombudsman Aniano Desierto, volunteered to collate all documentary evidence pertinent to the filing of the perjury case by Manrique.

According to Avila, Manrique at first acceded to all the conditions of the request of the prosecution team in the Estrada cases but at the last minute, just as he was supposed to “spill the beans” by exposing the irregularity, a battery of government officials including former presidential chief of staff Roberto Tiglao, now Philippine Ambassador to Greece, Presi-dential Commission on Good Government commissioner Nicasio Conti, Gen. Leo Alvez, Secretary Hernani Braganza, Secretary Simeon Datumanong, then Col, Delfin Bangit, Major Boyet Baraquel, Gen. Prospero Noble, Director Ramon Cuyco, Assistant Secretary Cecille Rebong, then Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Joey Lina, VACC chairman Dante Jimenez and Lauro Vizconde, tried to prevent Manrique from testifying on the irregularity surrounding the prosecution and trial of Estrada.

And succeed they did, he said, when President Arroyo herself gave instructions that Manrique and his entire family be immediately secured and brought to Canada on diplomatic status.

In his manifestation, Avila cited several flaws in the second perjury case filed by the prosecution in behalf of Manrique.

First, the amended information in Sandiganbayan dated April 4, 2001, based on the complaint filed by the VACC was filed by the Ombudsman ahead of the supposed complaint of VACC which is dated Sept. 10, 2001.

Second, the supposed letter request for vital documents of the VACC that was used as basis for the filing of the second perjury case was fabricated on orders of then Ombudsman Desierto, et al.

Third, said letter-request mentioned in item B, was antedated, which the record clerk refused to record it in the incoming logbook.

Fourth, the original draft complaint was alleged to have been manufactured by the Ombudsman and was prepared for signature by the supposed complainant, the VACC.

Fifth, said draft complaint was revised and corrected in her own handwriting by lawyer Persida Acosta, the chief of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) which is under the Department of Justice.

Sixth, lawyer Acosta represented herself as defense lawyer of Estrada and had many times submitted a motion to be excluded as counsel of the accused. She, however, never mentioned that she was one with the alleged brains in the fabrication and filing of the perjury case.

Lastly, the entire conspiracy was done with the full knowledge of Mrs. Arroyo who was claimed to have personally orchestrated, obstructed and prevented the truth on the conspiracy from surfacing by effecting the transfer of Manrique and his family to Canada on a diplomatic status.

Avila said he came to know only of the irregularity in the perjury case against Estrada when he and Manrique had the opportunity to meet sometime last April, being old acquaintances.

In the said meeting, Manrique allegedly told Avila everything he knew in the Erap case, which he said he had written in his book, The Dark Conspiracy, to which Avila advised the Manrique to consult with the lawyers of Estrada.

While Avila was able to talk with one of the detained counsels Rene Saguisag, who was willing to meet with Manrique, he was already back in Canada by that time.

With the uncertainty of Manrique taking the witness stand, Saguisag, in a memorandum, wrote the Sandiganbayan about a potential witness “who can show obstruction of justice at the highest level.”

“We realize that a critical point has been reached and we cannot stay this case, much less that of plunder, but in a bizarre case where a celebrity has been treated cruelly, by punishing him more than an ordinary Filipino, he should be understood for using any weapon, to gain vindication, and expose those behind his maltreatment, within law, policy and reason,” Saguisag stated in his memorandum.

While Avila acknowledges the fact that proceedings of Estrada’s case have already reached the terminal stage wherein both prosecution and defense have rested their cases, he said it is his opinion that if a judgment is eventually issued without the information they have provided, “then such judgment will be incomplete even if it will be favorable to the party upon whom the information would be beneficial,” in obvious reference to Estrada.

“Our courts of law exist not only to give justice to the parties but more importantly to serve the higher interests of the principles of truth and morality,” said Avila . “These principles are the basis for the existence of men living in present day civilization.”

“They are the reason for the propagation of humanity. They are the ultimate foundations of society.”

The lawyer who acted as intervenor hinted at a mistrial, in light of his mentioning a witness who was allegedly instructed by the Ombudsman, who was then preparing a case against against the former leader.

Avila said Manrique had dinner with him sometime in the second week of April, where Manrique expressed remorse over his involvement at Estrada’s criminal cases.

Manrique is allegedly now willing to present himself to court should the court summon him to shed light on the supposed manufactured documents.

Beginning April, Avila said Enriquez has been working on his expose, but was only delayed by processing of his Canadian passport which has expired.

Avila said that Manrique’s revelations also bears on the more serious plunder charge against Estrada.

Avila said that when Estrada’s defense panel “walked out” one of the government lawyers the Sandiganbayan put in place was Persida Acosta, who helped in drafting the plunder charges against Estrada using documents that Manrique allegedly submitted.

“That was foul. Why will you accept a designation as defense counsel when you are a member of the (prosecution fact finding team)?” Avila said.

Avila said Acosta failed to tell the Sandiganbayan that there was an alleged “conflict of interest” with her designation.

“That would be an indication of mistrial,” Avila said, while stressing that Acosta can be disbarred for what she allegedly did.

Avila said his main aim is for the Sandiganbayan to consider all of this information in the manifestation he filed, before handing down the verdict on Estrada’s cases.

“I will be content if the Sandiganbayan will say ‘noted’ (his manifestation),” Avila said.

He said that if the Sandiganbayan will issue a resolution saying that the manifestation was noted, it should reflect in its decision.

Avila dismissed possible public perceptions of the manifestation as a delaying tactic.

“Better late than never,” he said, adding that the details are best known to the Sandiganbayan before it decides on the case.

The Dark Conspiracy
Potential witness in Estrada case a no-show

ZTE broadband $330 M misdeal: Elections chief Benjamin Abalos in hot water

Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos has no business in DOTC broadband project. He is not an expert in wireless telecommunications. What monkey business he is dealing with China’s ZTE?


Graft raps filed vs DOTC
chief over broadband deal

BY PETER TABINGO
NUEVA Ecija Rep. Carlos Padilla yesterday filed criminal complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman against Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza and two subordinates over alleged anomalies in the awarding of the $330 million broadband project to Chinese firm ZTE Corp.
Padilla accused Mendoza and assistant secretaries Lorenzo Formoso and Elmer Soneja of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the Telecommunications Policy Act, the Build-Operate-Transfer Act and the Government Procurement Act.
He said executives of ZTE Corp. including its chairman Hou Weigi, vice president Yu Yong, chief Manila representative George Zhu Ying, and executive director Fan Yang should also be indicted for conspiring with DOTC officials in binding the Philippine government to what he said was an onerous deal.
He assailed Mendoza’s decision to burden the public with the $330 million project funded by a loan from the Chinese government, saying two other bidders were willing to build the broadband project at no cost to government. The other bidders were Amsterdam Holdings Inc. and Ameriscom of the United States.
"There was no bidding done for this project, and under the law, all telecommunications projects of the national government have to be bidded out. In this case, all aspects of the contract are suspicious because these have been kept under wraps," the opposition lawmaker said.
Padilla also chided the Department of Justice for allowing itself to be the "laughing stock" for rendering a favorable opinion on the ZTE project, when the department allegedly did not even have a copy of the contract. Malaya 08/29/2007
Related Links
ZTE deal conceived in hotel `escapades???
Rep. Carlos Padilla links Elections chief Benjamin Abalos of being the patron of China's ZTE Corp.
Chinese loan caps sneaky ZTE deal
COMELEC silent on ‘sexcapade’
Abalos admits ZTE paid for China trips
Teves confirms Abalos's involvement in broadband deal
House minority mulls Abalos impeachment

President Estrada: Pardon or Amnesty No Deal

It’s not a surprise why Mrs. Gloria Arroyo is interfering with anti-graft court’s business. She has prostituted government institutions, the Roman Catholic Church and religious sect through bribery, horse trading and patronage for the sake of political survival. Malacanang mafia’s dirty hands are all over the place. The political trial of the century is a dismal flop.

The anti-graft court, Sandiganbayan Special Division was exclusively created to try and convict ousted President Joseph Estrada. The plunder case is weak for guilty verdict and goes after a lesser crime. The anti-graft court will convict Erap for falsification of Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN) in a face-saving act by the government. Mistrial is another longshot alternative. The principle of equal justice under law is elusive in the Philippines’ justice system.


Manila Times Friday, July 06, 2007

Estrada won’t accept pardon

By Efren L. Danao, Senior Reporter

Former President Joseph Estrada will not accept a pardon by President Arroyo or apply for amnesty if he is convicted by the Sandiganbayan for plunder, his son Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said Thursday.

In a press conference at the Manila Hotel, Senator Estrada and other opposition leaders were incensed at what they perceived to be the imminent conviction of the former President “in accordance with the wishes of Mrs. Arroyo.”

“Clemency or amnesty is not acceptable to us. There will be no deals with the Arroyo administration,” he said.

Presidential Legal Adviser Sergio Apostol had been quoted as saying that the administration might be willing to grant Estrada clemency if he is found guilty.

Jinggoy, who is co-accused in the case as accessory, said they would reject any offer of clemency.

“When we were still detained at Veterans Memorial Hospital, Mike Defensor talked about clemency. We did not accept it,” he said.

He added that amnesty is granted only to those who were enemies of the state who would apply for it.

“We are not enemies of the state,” Jinggoy said.

He declared that they would exhaust all legal remedies available, including an appeal for reconsideration, if the verdict is guilty. At the same time, he hinted of possible violence if such a verdict were handed down.

“The people will not accept any conviction of Erap,” Jinggoy said.

He charged that a guilty finding would result only if there is Malacañang interference.

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay challenged President Arroyo to deny an ABS-CBN report that she had wanted the antigraft court to convict Estrada. The report claimed that Cardinal Vidal had personally heard this from her, and that Vidal later informed Estrada about this.

The Manila Times tried to contact Vidal but he was reportedly on retreat either in Tagaytay City or at the Pope Pius IX Center in Manila and could not be reached.

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro said the full-page ads in several newspapers, including The Times, were meant to condition the minds of the people about Estrada’s eventual conviction.

The ads had the headline: “Erap: Guilty or not guilty, kailangan bang may gulo?” Its body included the lines “The Court has spoken. Our duty is to uphold the rule of law. This is the way of democracy. Due process has been observed. Justice has been served. Let the rule of law prevail.”

Rodriguez, Estrada’s personal lawyer, said the sentence “The Court has spoken” indicated that the group that had taken out the ad, Mahal Kita Pilipinas, had advance knowledge of the Sandiganbayan’s verdict. He said he would file on Friday contempt charges against Mahal Kita Pilipinas before the Sandiganbayan for the advertisement.

“We would also write letters to the newspapers to give us details about the advertisements,” he added.

Rodriguez read Estrada’s statement expressing alarm and sadness over the recent developments that had “compromised the integrity of the Sandiganbayan, not through its own fault but because of the unquenchable thirst for vengeance and retribution of the current regime.”

“I can only hope that despite intense pressures from the executive branch, the honorable justices of the Sandiganbayan—President Justice Teresita de Castro and Associate Justices Francisco Villaruz and Diosdado Peralta—will continue to uphold their sacred oath to render justice without consideration for the personal sentiment of those in power,” the statement continued.

Estrada reiterated his claim of innocence of all charges leveled against him.

A civic organization, meanwhile, urged President Arroyo to junk all plans to grant executive clemency to Estrada.

Tanglaw ng Bayan spokesman Bayani Santos Jr. said the Palace announcement that the President is open to pardoning the former President sends a wrong signal and portrays a travesty of the justice system.

The group also warned that airing the planned pardon “this early could create impressions that a deal has been struck between the Palace and the Estrada group.”

Santos appealed to the President “to let justice take its normal course.”

China's ZTE Corp. built-in kickback of P10 billion

The Blue Ribbon Committee or Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations should look deeper onto the ZTE Corp. P16 billion broadband project deals with the Philippine government. It appears to be over-priced by P10 billion. Happy hunting!

The Philippine Star

GOTCHA By JARIUS BONDOC

Why are they dealing with a firm like ZTE?

The Presidential Anti-Graft Commission fired its officer who started a probe of mighty Cabinet men. Vida Zora Bocar was axed last Monday. It was the same day I published her request for documents on the ZTE deal to beef up an investigation of DOTC Sec. Leandro Mendoza and Asec. Elmer Soneja. Superiors claimed Ms Bocar had violated the confidential nature of PAGC proceedings. She reasoned out — to no avail — that she had no control over what I wrote.

Ms Bocar did nothing wrong. In asking me for papers on my exposé, she was only doing her job as a thorough graft investigator. We had yet to meet.

But other forces were at play. Ms Bocar had begun looking into a potential P10-billion kickback from an unnecessary P16-billion project. That ruffled powerful feathers and endangered PAGC posts. One of those to be questioned is murmured to soon become executive secretary, to which the PAGC submits its reports and budget needs. Looking for an excuse to back out of the inquiry, PAGC higher-ups conveniently accused Ms Bocar of indiscretion. Will anyone now dare to submit evidence on the scam?

Pray that Ms Bocar’s bosses restrain themselves. May the words of Luke (3:14) touch them: “And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, ‘and what shall we do?’ And he said unto them, ‘Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages.’”

* * *

Thrilled by its P16-billion telecom deal with the government, ZTE Corp. of China said it is bullish on RP. And so it is “investing in other” local industries: mining, rubber, agri-business.

The implication is that the P16 billion ZTE will supply in the form of broadband gear is its initial investment. It is far from true. Government will borrow from a Chinese bank the P16 billion to be paid to ZTE. Thus, it isn’t new money coming in; it is unnecessary money for a superfluous project. Existing telecom firms in Manila can provide the broadband service to the government. Yet with the ZTE deal, generations of Filipinos will have to repay a loan for a likely white elephant. And the loan amount has a built-in kickback of P10 billion for the Philippine approvers.

That is the same modus operandi ZTE employs in other countries. It comes in doling big cash to public officials in exchange for juicy contracts. Fortunately for people in other lands, ZTE has been exposed and driven out. Only in the Philippines is it being welcomed with open arms by a government that doesn’t know any better. Or does it?

I had written in a previous column that ZTE messed things up in Mexico, Ecuador, Ethiopia and Indonesia (Gotcha, 25 April 2007). Since then, more news items from around the world have detailed ZTE’s scams.

ZTE’s country manager in Liberia and his co-conspirators have been indicted for bribery. The ZTE man reportedly bribed regulators to ease out the real winner of a telecom project bidding. He also falsified bid papers to make it appear that ZTE was China’s largest telecom supplier, when it is only third. A report on the case says that ZTE violated corporate laws not only of Liberia but also of China against unfair competition.

A similar probe broke out in Libya. ZTE submitted false claims of track record and technical skill. Two of the fake papers reportedly contain the forged signatures of a private telecom executive in Manila and a junta leader in Burma.

The use of a false Burmese connection was cheeky. ZTE presently is being investigated also in Burma for corrupting a general who doubles as minister of post and communication. The officer had contracted ZTE to supply a $150-million system for 300,000 phone lines. The amount, to be borrowed from a Chinese bank, was ten times the real cost of the project, according to industry experts. Another ZTE contract for a million phone lines in another Southeast Asian country cost $30 million, a report from Bangkok stated.

Earlier ZTE indictments in Ecuador and Ethiopia also were for graft and bribery. In Indonesia the company is charged with price dumping.

The most celebrated ZTE case is in Mexico City, where residents have accused the mayor of addled priorities. The official had commissioned ZTE for high-speed Internet to 8.7 million citizens, plus broadband “hotspots” linking government offices and thousands of street surveillance cameras. Mexicans groan that what they need instead is water and electricity.

In Manila six business groups have urged President Arroyo to cancel the P16-billion deal signed by DOTC Sec. Leandro Mendoza with ZTE on Apr. 21. Executives and economists said the money could be better used building 36,000 classrooms, or 6,000 rural health clinics, or 120,000 artesian wells. Mendoza has yet to make the contract public, though.

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Signed RP-China telecom contract stolen

Six-year plunder trial of deposed President Joseph Estrada ends

MANILA, Philippines — State prosecutors have called for oral summations during final arguments Friday in the six-year plunder trial of deposed President Joseph Estrada.

They are doing so not just to stop further delays in the case but also to “refresh the people’s memory,” explained Special State Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio.

Villa-Ignacio noted that oral summations were “not a common feature” of Philippine courts, but that his team believed making the proceedings public would remind Filipinos of the alleged crimes of their 13th President.

“It’s been six years since we began and the people might have already forgotten the details of this case,” he said in an interview.

State prosecutors plan to argue that a guilty verdict for Estrada, who is accused of amassing P4.1-billion in illegal funds, would be a rare chance for the Philippines to hold the powerful to account.

“It would show that the State, and the administration as well, have the political will to go after corrupt public officials,” Villa-Ignacio said.

“If we let this go unpunished, then that’s it. Forget about good governance, forget about eradicating corruption in the bureaucracy. This is the last opportunity that we as a nation have to show that we can enforce the law regardless of the personalities involved here,” he said.

Prosecutors also plan to post on the Ombudsman’s website their 626-page memorandum summing up the “people’s case” against Estrada.

In it, they lamented the failure to obtain “a swift and timely justice” for the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies.

Estrada’s conviction may provide “a second chance,” they said.

The Sandiganbayan special division, created to hear the plunder case against the disgraced leader, received the prosecution’s memo as well as a 276-page summation of the defense last Wednesday. The trial will close with final arguments at 9 a.m. Friday.

Whole-day affair

The court has required the presence of the 70-year-old Estrada in what is expected to be a whole-day affair. His co-accused son, Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, is said to be in San Francisco, California, and is not expected at the hearing.

Lawyers from both camps are expected to come in full force, with the sheriff’s office reserving up to 20 seats for each side. Loudspeakers are to be installed outside the 146-seat courtroom for journalists who could not be accommodated inside.

Reached at his Tanay, Rizal, vacation estate where he is under house arrest, Estrada said he will be ready to address the court himself, if allowed to do so.

“I would have been in exile and not attending if I were guilty,” he said, recalling how then Justice Secretary Hernando Perez allegedly offered him safe passage to any country of his choice shortly after his ouster in January 2001.

Villa-Ignacio, who has many times accused the Estrada defense panel of delaying the case, said the prosecution has “in effect thwarted further attempts” to prolong the case.

He said that in most cases after the trial proper, the prosecution and defense would just agree to file memos and rejoinders, after which the court considers the case submitted for decision.

But if the prosecution had agreed to this route, the long wait for the verdict “might drag on until 2008.”

Oral summation hearing

Sandiganbayan spokesperson Renato Bocar, who has served in the anti-graft court since 1979, observed that this was the first time that the court would be holding an oral summation hearing.

Under the rules of court, the special division has to issue a verdict “within 90 days” starting Friday, when the case is considered submitted for decision.

Villa-Ignacio said he expected a verdict within 60 days.

“We are very confident, especially after we have presented our evidence,” he said.

The Philippine National Police said it was ready to bring Estrada before the Sandiganbayan on Friday in what will probably be his last court appearance.

Chief Supt. Romeo Hilomen, chief of the PNP’s Police Security and Protection Office (PSPO), said that if Estrada refuses to appear before the court, he would be brought there by force.

“But I already talked to him and he had agreed to go,” Hilomen said.

Hilomen said his office had been ordered to “produce” Estrada before the Sandiganbayan before 9 a.m.

He refused to say how many policemen would be involved or whether Estrada would be transported by chopper or by land.

“There is no specific threat to Mr. Estrada,” Hilomen noted.

Hilomen’s unit, with around 2,000 members, is in charge of security for very important persons (VIPs).

By Volt Contreras With Alcuin Papa and Associated Press
Related Links
THE ESTRADA PLUNDER CASE, YEAR 1
Prosecution: We proved our case
Defense: Prosecution had no case
Estrada Trial Ends