Opposition solons to Abalos: Tell all about ZTE mess

Turn the tables on the Arroyo administration. This is what opposition lawmakers hope Benjamin Abalos Sr will do after he resigned as chairman of the Commission on Elections. “We hope he will be forthright about what he knows. It is important that the country hears from him. It’s obvious who pushed him in this scandal, maybe he should do a little pushing back. The truth never hurts," said House Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora. Abalos resigned on Monday amid allegations that he received and offered bribes in exchange for the award of the Philippine government’s National Broadband Network project to China’s Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment (ZTE) Corp. Zamora said now is Abalos’s time to “tell all" about the alleged anomalous ZTE transactions, including those that are behind the deal. “I think it is important for him to realize his patriotic duty. There is no more job he has to aspire for. He owes a gratitude to his country. This is now beyond his career. Maybe he can do the country one big favor," Zamora said. “Ang dapat natin abangan ay kung may ibubunyag si Abalos at sasabihin ang buong katotohanan at iba pang sangkot sa ZTE deal (We have to wait if Abalos would reveal the whole truth, including those who are behind the ZTE deal)," said Anak Mindanao Rep. Mujiv Hataman. For her part, Akbayan Rep. Loretta Ann Rosales warned that Abalos’s resignation “could open a Pandora’s box" in the government. “His resignation means that he’s free to tell everything – from the ZTE controversy to electoral fraud cases in 2004 and 2007." Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño echoed the position of his colleagues and said that Abalos should now be challenged “to tell all that he knows." “He should not allow being made the President’s fall guy," he said. Rep. Joel Villanueva of the Citizens Battle Against Corruption also urged Abalos to spill the beans on the ZTE deal, saying people “are already sick and tired of selective revelations." GMANews.TV earlier reported that through "special authority" documents she gave two Cabinet secretaries, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo authorized negotiations for the award of the NBN project to ZTE Corp., months before the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) started its evaluation of the project, according to official records submitted to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. Four days before formal talks with ZTE could start, Mrs Arroyo brought the ZTE chairman to Cotabato City, as her special guest, at the joint Cabinet-regional Development Council meeting there on July 8, 2006. She told local folk at the meeting that ZTE was investing US$1 billion in telecommunications and other projects in the Philippines. On July 12, 2006, Mrs Arroyo signed a “special authority" document vesting Trade and Industry Secretary Peter J. Favila “full powers" to “negotiate, conclude and sign, for and on behalf of the Republic of the Philippines" the award of investment projects, including NBN, to ZTE International Investment Corporation, a sister company of ZTE Corporation. This occurred three months before the NBN project was endorsed for review by the NEDA. - GMANews.TV