JDV son: Mike Arroyo told me to ‘back off’ from NBN project

(Updated 8:30 p.m.) The son of Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr on Tuesday accused First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo of telling him to “back off" from bidding on the government’s multi-million dollar national broadband network project that was later on bagged by a Chinese firm for $329.4 million (P16 billion). Meanwhile, Mr Arroyo’s camp dismissed the accusation as mere “propaganda." Businessman Jose "Joey" De Venecia III said this was how Mr Arroyo supported Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos, whom the businessman said offered a $10 million bribe amid threats and claims of wiretapping. ''It was the First Gentleman who told me to back off,'' said De Venecia, co-owner of losing project proponent Amsterdam Holdings Inc (AHI). In his testimony before the Senate Tuesday, De Venecia said the First Gentleman pointed a finger at him and gave him the stern message during a "reconciliatory" meeting in the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City. He said Arroyo and Abalos at the time were with Jimmy Paz, retired police general Quirino dela Torre, one Leo San Miguel, and Ben Reyes. The meeting, held in "mid-March," was meant to supposedly settle disputes between De Venecia and Abalos. The gathering allegedly took place at a function room "diagonally across" the Wack Wack veranda. However, Arroyo allegedly left De Venecia and went to the other side of the room. "He (Arroyo) refused to listen, he stood up and left ... So I ended up talking to no one," he said. De Venecia said that after Arroyo told him to "back off," the former tried to explain the economic benefits of AHI's proposal. Propaganda Meanwhile, Jesus Santos, Mr Arroyo's counsel and spokesperson, said the accusations against the First Gentleman are malicious and part of a "black propaganda." "Black propaganda na naman 'yan. Wag ganyan kasi 'yong mama eh sinabihan na ng doctor no'n pa matapos ang heart surgery n'ya na magbakasyon muna s'ya sa labas ng bansa, (It's another black propaganda. It shouldn't be like that. Even before the ZTE controversy, the doctors advised the First Gentleman to take a vacation abroad after his heart surgery)" Santos told reporters on Monday. Santos said Mr Arroyo's departure last Monday has nothing to do with the ZTE deal controversy, because the First Gentleman's trip abroad was planned even before he underwent heart surgery last April. Arroyo underwent a triple heart bypass and aneurysmectomy at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City the following month. He flew quietly to Hong Kong on Monday. Finger-pointing De Venecia, however, admitted he is not personally aware if Arroyo and Abalos had met with ZTE officials. De Venecia, using Iloilo Vice Gov. Rolex Suplico as a model, demonstrated the finger-pointing and shouting. He said Arroyo's finger was "two to three inches" from his face. "You'd ask a heftier person to back you up, to support you," he added. De Venecia identified Arroyo as the "mystery man" of the ZTE deal as mentioned in newspaper reports. However, he said that, "It was his (Arroyo) presence alone that I observed" and the former could not say how the First Gentleman directly affected the outcome of the deal. "I have previously mentioned [that I would] reveal the identity of the mystery man under oath and in the proper forum. It is with a heavy heart that I cannot deny that it was First Gentleman Mike Arroyo," he said. He added that, "However, I want this clear that it was his (Arroyo's) presence alone that I observed and it had no other indication of his participation in the NBN project for the deal with ZTE." He said his company should have won the contract because it submitted the first complete unsolicited proposal for the project and offered to build the national broadband network at no cost to the government, unlike the ZTE deal that required the government to secure a US$330 million loan from China. De Venecia said it was Abalos who stood to receive kickbacks from the overpricing and threatened to have him and newspaper columnist Jarius Bondoc killed for exposing the deal. He recalled that he got the shock of his life shortly after speaking with his business partners on the cellphone. Minutes later, an enraged Abalos called him up and told him that his phone was bugged and that these wiretapped conversations can be transcribed. "It was Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos who fumed and raged at me when he found out that AHI (Amsterdam) would be pursuing its original contract as submitted to the DOTC without the unnecessary government loan and guarantee," De Venecia said. He added that, ''It was also Chairman Benjamin Abalos who stood to receive for himself any kickbacks from the colossal overpricing of the NBN project ... 'Neither I nor my foreign partners would accede to a sweetheart proposal that was riddled with graft, corruption and the massive plunder of taxpayers' money." - with a report from AP, GMANews.TV