Ombudsman upholds Abalos, Neri involvement in ZTE case

(Update - 10:42 p.m.) The Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday affirmed the involvement of former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director-general Romulo Neri and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos in the botched multi-million NBN-ZTE deal. In a 16-page joint order, the Ombudsman upheld its April 21, 2009 resolution recommending the filing of graft charges against Neri and Abalos in connection with the $329-million national broadband network deal (NBN) the Arroyo government entered with China's Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment (ZTE) Corp. in April 2007.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo terminated the contract, which was supposed to improve the communication capabilities of government offices, in September 2007 after news of bribery surrounding the deal came out. Bare denials In coming up with its order, the Ombudsman in effect junked the separate appeals filed by Neri and Abalos for being just "bare denials." The same order also affirmed the Ombudsman's decision to clear President Arroyo and her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, of involvement in the case. The Ombudsman also dismissed a motion for reconsideration filed by lawyer Harry Roque seeking the inclusion of President Arroyo's name in the charge sheet. The Ombudsman cited the incumbent president’s immunity from suit. Overall Deputy Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro issued the order on behalf of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, who inhibited herself from the case for being closely associated with Mr. Arroyo. Gutierrez and Mr. Arroyo were batchmates at the Ateneo Law School. Go signal for Neri’s suspension Through upholding its earlier resolution, the Ombudsman gave the go signal for the immediate suspension of Neri as Social Security System (SSS) president for six months without pay. The Court of Appeals nullified in November last year the suspension order due to Neri’s pending motion for reconsideration filed with the Ombudsman. In affirming Neri and Abalos' indictment, the Ombudsman gave weight to testimonies made by whistleblowers Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada, Jr. and Jose de Venecia III, son of Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr., directly linking the two officials to the botched broadband deal. During the Senate hearings on the case, Lozada, who was a NEDA technical consultant under Neri when the deal was made, accused the then NEDA director general of intervening for the broadband project. De Venecia III, meanwhile, charged Abalos of offering bribes to Neri to make sure that the deal pushes through. Abalos resigned from the Comelec in October 2007 because of the controversy. The Senate blue ribbon committee recommended last year the filing of graft charges against Mr. Arroyo, Neri and Abalos for their alleged involvement in the controversial deal. Abalos accepts, Neri to appeal In a GMA News Report, Abalos said he accepts the Ombudsman’s decision to uphold his involvement in the NBN-ZTE mess. The former Comelec chairperson said he would just let the court decide whether or not he is guilty of the graft charges set to be filed against him. Neri’s camp, on the other hand, vowed to challenge the Ombudsman’s order. “We are confident with the rule of justice in this country. My client is innocent. Whether criminally or administratively, he is not guilty," lawyer Paul Lentejas, Neri’s counsel, said in an interview aired over GMA News’ “24 Oras." Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus, official spokesperson for the office of the Ombudsman, however, disputed Lentejas’ claims, saying that both Neri and Abalos presented no convincing evidence to clear them of involvement in the case. - Andreo Calonzo/KBK, GMANews.TV