NBN–ZTE deal corruption scandal
The Philippine National Broadband Network controversy (also referred to as the NBN–ZTE deal or NBN–ZTE mess) involved allegations of
The contract with ZTE was signed on April 20, 2007, in Hainan, China. Following the emergence of irregularities, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cancelled the National Broadband Network project in October 2007. On July 14, 2008, the Supreme Court dismissed all three petitions questioning the constitutionality of the national broadband deal, saying the petitions became moot when the project was cancelled.
History
Background
In April 2007, Philippine
On August 29,
On September 5,
Senate investigations
De Venecia's testimony
Jose "Joey" de Venecia III, son of
On September 11, the
Neri's testimony
On the September 20 Senate hearing, Cabinet officials attended the hearing except for former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Chairman (now Commission on Higher Education Chairman) Romulo Neri, who was sick. On September 22, 2007, president Arroyo suspended the broadband contract with ZTE after the bribery scandal sparked major problems in her government.[3]
Neri and Abalos finally faced each other on the September 26 Senate hearing; Neri testified that Abalos told him "Sec, may 200 ka dito (You have 200M pesos in this deal)" while playing golf at Wack Wack Golf Club; they had been discussing the ZTE deal at that time. Abalos denied making the apparent bribe attempt. Neri later invoked executive privilege in response to some Senators' questions.[1] He later shunned succeeding Senate hearings still citing executive privilege
On September 27, 2007, ZTE petitioned the
Abalos announced his resignation as COMELEC chairman on October 1; Resurreccion Borra succeeded him as COMELEC chairman. President Arroyo on her October 2 trip to China, said to Chinese President and General Secretary of the Communist Party Hu Jintao her "difficult decision" to cancel ZTE Corp.'s contract for the NBN project.[1]
On May 26, 2008, a Supreme Court decision (
Lozada's kidnapping and testimony
On January 30, 2008, the Senate produced warrants of arrest to Neri and Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada, Jr., former chief executive officer of the government-run Philippine Forest Corporation and a consultant of the NEDA. Neri then went into hiding while Lozada skipped the Senate hearing and went to
On February 5, as the Senate arresting team waited at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) during Lozada's arrival,[9] Lozada was taken by unidentified people "out of town" and Lozada's kin appealed for help on his whereabouts.[10] On February 7, Lozada finally surfaced as police took him to La Salle Green Hills, Mandaluyong. Lozada linked Mike Arroyo and Abalos to the ZTE scandal.[11] On the same day, the Supreme Court stopped the Senate from arresting Neri, ordering a status quo; Neri then resurfaced after the threat of arrest was taken off.[12]
The next day, on a
On February 11, upon continuation of Senate hearings, the government denied on kidnapping Lozada. Lozada claimed he was driven around
Deputy Executive Secretary Manuel Gaite appeared on the February 26 hearing. He had previously said that the P500,000 he gave to Lozada's brother was for Lozada's expenses while staying at Hong Kong. Gaite said he "can't rationally justify" the reason why he gave Lozada the hefty amount. He said that his action "was moved by my conscience and my faith." Lozada earlier claimed that the P500,000 was a bribe.[15]
The
On August 23, 2016, the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court found Lozada and his brother guilty of graft in connection to the Philippine Forest Corp, and were sentenced to six to 10 years of imprisonment.[18][19][20]
Countersuit
Madriaga testimony
Also on the February 26 hearing, Dante Madriaga, a ZTE-employed engineer, claimed that US$41 million was sought as "advances". ZTE then withheld more money, saying they needed to see President Arroyo's face at the signing of the contract.[15]
Ombudsman cases
The Ombudsman
The Office of the Ombudsman indicted Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Jose Miguel Arroyo, Abalos, and former Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza for graft concerning alleged unlawful intervention in the ZTE national broadband project on December 28, 2011.[23] Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales affirmed the indictment in March 2012.[24] Party-list representatives Neri Colmenares and Walden Bello called for a banning of ZTE operations in the country until its record in the scandal had been clarified.[25]
The Sandiganbayan dismissed graft charges against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her co-accused in September 2016.[26]
Judgment
President Arroyo decided to cancel the National Broadband Network project on October 2, 2007, in a meeting with Chinese leader Hu Jintao.[27] On July 14, 2008, the Supreme Court dismissed all three petitions questioning the constitutionality of the national broadband deal, saying the petitions became moot when President Arroyo decided to cancel the project.[27]
Reactions
Following the testimony of Jun Lozada, several sectors and prominent people such as
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines called an emergency meeting on February 25, 2007, wherein they formed a collective stance which refused to call for Arroyo's resignation, instead calling on her to be part of a "moral reform process".[31]
On February 29, 2008, a rally was held in the Makati Central Business District to protest corruption and call for the resignation of President Arroyo.[32] The rally's attendees, which included former Presidents Corazon Aquino and Joseph Estrada, were estimated by police and rally organizers to be around 15,000 people.
See also
- Neri vs. Senate
References
- ^ GMA News and Public Affairs. September 18, 2007. Archivedfrom the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
- ^ "Supreme Court issues TRO on NBN deal". ABS-CBN News.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Reuters, Arroyo suspends telecoms deal with Chinese firm". Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved October 2, 2007.
- ^ ABS-CBN Interactive, ZTE asks SC to lift TRO[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Romulo L. Neri vs. Senate Committee". Supreme Court of the Philippines. March 25, 2008. Archived from the original on January 20, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
- ^ "supremecourt.gov.ph/jurisprudence, Summary of Voting". Archived from the original on April 1, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2008.
- ^ Arrest order out for ZTE witnesses Neri, Lozada Archived February 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, GMA News
- ^ "De Venecia ousted as House speaker". Philippine Daily Inquirer. February 5, 2008. Archived from the original on February 7, 2008. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
- ^ Senate arresting team awaits Lozada's arrival at NAIA Archived February 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, GMA News
- ^ "Missing ZTE witness taken out of town; Lozada kin asks for help". Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
- ^ "Lozada finally surfaces, links Abalos, Big Mike to ZTE mess". Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
- ^ "High Court stops Senate from arresting ZTE witness Neri". Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
- ^ Lozada links First Gentleman, Abalos to NBN deal Archived February 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine by Veronica Uy, Inquirer.net
- ^ ‘ZTE advanced $1M to Abalos’--De Venecia III Archived February 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine By Veronica Uy, Philippine Daily Inquirer.
- ^ a b Gaite: I can't rationally justify giving P500,000 to Lozada Archived February 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, GMA News.
- ^ "inquirer.net, Lozada to go to SC to appeal 'amparo' petition". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
- ^ "gmanews.tv, Lozada asks High Court to reopen amparo petition". Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
- ^ "Whistleblower Jun Lozada guilty of graft". Rappler. Archived from the original on August 24, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
- ^ "NBN-ZTE whistleblower Jun Lozada sentenced to 6-10 years in prison for graft". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on August 24, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
- ^ "NBN-ZTE deal whistleblower Jun Lozada found guilty of graft in Philforest case". GMA News. August 23, 2016. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
- ^ abs-cbnnews.com, Defensor files perjury raps vs Lozada[permanent dead link]
- ^ Ombudsman subpoenas Mike Arroyo, 4 others in ZTE mess - report Archived February 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, GMA News.
- ^ "Graft court bars Mike Arroyo from leaving". Rappler. January 3, 2012. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ^ "Ombudsman affirms graft charges vs GMA in ZTE deal". Rappler. March 7, 2012. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ^ Cabacungan, Gil C. (January 20, 2012). "Militant lawmakers want ZTE banned pending clarity in NBN mess". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
- ^ Nicholls, AC (September 16, 2016). "Sandiganbayan drops NBN-ZTE graft cases vs. Arroyo". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ^ GMA News and Public Affairs. July 14, 2008. Archivedfrom the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
- ^ "Senators want Arroyo resignation or leave of absence". Philippine Daily Inquirer. February 7, 2008. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
- ^ "De Venecia son joins 'Arroyo quit' call". Philippine Daily Inquirer. February 14, 2008. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
- GMA News and Public Affairs. February 13, 2008. Archivedfrom the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
- GMA News and Public Affairs. February 27, 2008. Archivedfrom the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
- GMA News and Public Affairs. February 29, 2008. Archivedfrom the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2009.
External links
- Related policy papers and NBN contract review at Action For Economic Reforms website
- De Venecia son’s team claims overprice in NBN deal - Experts report P8-B discrepancy, Inquirer.net
- The Madriaga file on broadband deal
- Derivation of the ZTE scandal $329 Million 'BUKOL', The so-called dissection of $329 Million
- abs-cbnnews.com, The limits of executive privilege, By JUSTICE ANTONIO CARPIO[permanent dead link]