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Lawyer behind impeach raps vs Arroyo hits back at critics


The lawyer who had filed an impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo lashed back at his critics at Malacañang and the House of Representatives who claimed that the case was too weak to indict the chief executive. Roel Pulido, former counsel of soldiers accused of taking part in 2003 Oakwood mutiny, denied that he was a “paid hack," saying that he laments that congressmen are more interested about his background and alleged political connections than the merit of the three-page complaint he filed last Friday. "Ang ikinalulungkot ko, mukhang mas concerned pa sila kung sino ako at bakit ko ginawa ito rather than the complaint na dapat ba nating patalsikin ang Pangulo (It’s sad that they are more concerned about who am I and what is my motive for filing the complaint rather than the complaint itself that calls for the ouster of President Arroyo)," Pulido told radio dzBB in an interview Monday. He likewise hit Malacañang for allegedly spreading rumors that congressmen were being offered bribes to endorse the impeachment complaint. “Nalulungkot po ako. Kasi kung totoo ‘yan, ang paniwala ko d’yan eh pakana ng taga Malacañang to kill outright my impeachment complaint, (I am saddened by that allegation. If that is true, I believe that it is a plot to Malacañang to kill outright my impeachment complaint)" he said. Pulido said the charges he made against Mrs Arroyo were of “probative value" because the testimonies made by Benjamin Abalos Sr, former Commission on Elections chairman and Romulo Neri, chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, were “admissions against (their) interest." “Ang ebidensiyang ginamit ko sa impeachment complaint malakas kasi testimonya ng dalawang taong handang potektahan ang Pangulo. Importante ‘yan dahil hindi na nila maitatanggi later," (The pieces of evidence I used in the complaint were of merit because they came from two people who were ready to protect President Arroyo)," he said, In his complaint, Pulido alleged that Mrs Arroyo betrayed the public trust after she allegedly played a role in the $329.48-million National Broadband Network project with China’s Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment (ZTE) Corp. Pulido said Mrs Arroyo knew about the “illegal and corrupt machinations undertaken by high government officials" to secure the NBN project, but she did not do anything about it. He said that while President Arroyo was informed by Neri that he was offered a P200-million bribe by Abalos for the approval of the NBN deal with ZTE, the chief executive did not act against the alleged bribery. Pulido also cited in his complaint the testimony of Jose “Joey" de Venecia III before the Senate last month that President Arroyo, Abalos and Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr discussed the ZTE proposal for the NBN project during a golf game in China. He also filed an ethics complaint against the Speaker for his alleged failure to stop his son Joey from intervening in government transactions. De Venecia III is co-owner of Amsterdam Holdings Inc, one the losing bidders in the NBN project. - GMANews.TV

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