WB country director agrees to meet Senate panel for briefing

MANILA, Philippines – Provided that it will be held in an informal technical briefing, World Bank country director Bert Hofman agreed to meet with the Senate to discuss the purported collusion among contractors bidding for WB-funded road projects. Radio dzBB’s Nimfa Ravelo reported that Hofman sent Senate economic affairs committee chair Miriam Defensor Santiago a letter on Feb. 16, 2009 saying that he is willing to meet with senators but only behind closed doors. "Following our institutional arrangements, we have indicated to the authorities that we can, if they so invite, meet to provide further informal technical briefings and that we would welcome the presence of senators interested in this matter at such a briefing," said Hofman in a letter, copy of which was distributed to the media. He said the Department of Finance is aware of such arrangement. He added that the head of WB Institutional Integrity Department has offered to meet with the Ombudsman if this would be helpful in furthering its investigation. "Hence, instead of issuing a subpoena to Hofman, the Senate should instead invite him to an informal technical briefing," Santiago said in a letter sent to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, also on Monday. Also in the letter to Enrile, Santiago cited Hofman's letter that the WB Referral Report pointed out that the relevant Philippine authorities can also determine whether the Report can be shared further. "The Ombudsman said at the last hearing that she is willing to share the World Bank documents. Hence, there being no objection from the WB and the Ombudsman, the Senate may now decide on its own to release to the public all WB documents," Santiago said. Rules on evidence The senator also defended her strict use of the rules on evidence in her committee hearings, saying to enable the committee to submit its report to the plenary session, it is necessary to consider three kinds of evidence admissible under the Rules of Court, namely: testimonial, documentary, or real evidence. She added one good reason to follow the rules on evidence is that after hearing, the most that the Senate could do with respect to the criminal aspect of a case would be to recommend prosecution to the Ombudsman or to the justice department. "If the Senate bases its recommendation on inadmissible evidence, the case would be thrown out by the prosecutor and, in the event, by the judge. Thus, the Senate would be embarrassed," Santiago said. She said to convert a Senate hearing into a fact-finding hearing, without observing the Rules of Court, would be improper. The DZBB report added that Finance Secretary Margarito Teves and Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez may be invited to the hearing. The report, however, did not indicate when the informal technical briefing will take place. The Bank in November 2007 furnished Teves and Gutierrez’s offices with its referral report on the alleged bribery and collusion that led to the WB’s blacklisting of three Filipino and four Chinese firms. The report cited testimonies of witnesses linking First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and other personalities to the alleged irregularities surrounding the Bank-funded infrastructure projects under the first phase of the National Roads Improvement and Management Program (NRIMP-1). Mr. Arroyo and those implicated in the controversy have since denied any involvement in the mess. At the resumption of the Senate panel hearing last Thursday, Santiago moved that a subpoena duces tecum be issued for Hofman for snubbing the inquiry. A visibly irate Santiago also chided the Bank for its refusal to hand over its report to the Senate. But Santiago on Sunday disclosed that the Senate may not issue the subpoena anymore against Hofman, who she said had sent him a letter over the Valentine’s weekend, indicating that the Bank admitted to having no evidence on the involvement of First Gentleman the other personalities implicated in the controversy. - GMANews.TV