Abalos again!!!???

[shadow]

after the controversial, anomalous election computerization...now this....iba talaga pag chairman ng COMELEC....hinde magalaw ng mga politician dahil kailangan siya sa election

Abalos admits ties with ZTE
By Sheila Crisostomo
Friday, August 31, 2007 Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos admitted yesterday knowing some officials of the Chinese firm ZTE Corp. but denied brokering the controversial $330-million national broadband network (NBN) contract in exchange for golf and ***.
Abalos said he sought the help of ZTE officials regarding the importation business of his daughter.
“I know some of them because of my daughter. They helped my daughter in sourcing some supplies for her importation business. But we never talked about that transaction,” Abalos told The STAR.
Abalos admitted the Chinese executives have become his golfing buddies at Wack-Wack Golf Course in Mandaluyong City, where he is also an official.
“China has some of the best golf courses in the world. I think since last year, I traveled there four times. I can’t remember when but I was on vacation then. And ZTE has absolutely nothing to do with those trips,” he stressed.
Regarding the column of STAR columnist Jarius Bondoc who revealed a ranking Comelec official had lobbied for the ZTE deal in exchange for money and ***, the 73-year-old Abalos said he does not feel alluded to.
“I can never leave my wife in Hong Kong to be in the company of two women in China. I cannot do that to my wife. We’ve been married for (almost) 50 years now. Three more years and we’ll be celebrating our golden anniversary,” he said.
Abalos said he and his wife talked about the issue and they had a good laugh. “She is not affected at all because she knows it’s not true. My family is not affected.”
“In the first place, my wife is also not a big spender so she would not do a shopping spree in Hong Kong. Aside from that, we have our own store so she does not have to do that,” he added.
Abalos also told dzMM that he introduced the ZTE officials to Finance Secretary Margarito Teves after they expressed interest in putting up a processing plant in Davao.
Abalos though maintained the Chinese officials did not ask any favor from him for the approval of the NBN contract.
Abalos explained he could not take part in the approval of the deal since he is not familiar with the communications industry.
“As far as I know that’s supposed to be a government to government transaction, I mean from the news reports I have been receiving. If it was a government to government transaction how could I be involved?” he added.

No need for bidding

Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza, for his part, defended the NBN deal, reiterating the contract was aboveboard and advantageous to the Philippine government.
Mendoza also told dzMM that the contract with ZTE Corp. was thoroughly examined, deliberated on and subsequently approved by the board of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) as required by law.
“The legal and bureaucratic processes needed for the approval of the contract were duly followed,” he said.
On questions over why there was no public bidding, Mendoza explained that a “government-to-government” deal was forged between the Philippines and China which, he claimed, made bidding unnecessary.
He also stressed that two unsolicited proposals submitted by private firms to build a broadband network for the government on a build-operate-transfer scheme, referring to Amsterdam Holdings Inc. (AHI) and Arescom, were found to be defective by the DOTC.
Mendoza claimed AHI in its proposal did not identify the source of funding for the project.
Arescom’s offer also had questions regarding the sourcing of its funding, he said.
Mendoza said both AHI and Arescom were regarded by the DOTC as lacking in experience in establishing broadband connectivity.
The project involves linking all the country’s local government units in one communication network, providing for instant communication with the government offices and departments in Manila.
Mendoza pointed out that the NEDA board found the ZTE proposal to be the “best proposal” and approved it for implementation.
The DOTC and the Department of Finance are the two government departments tasked to implement the agreement.
The Central Bank of the Philippines will also approve and supervise the funding process, Mendoza explained.
Mendoza said ZTE, as the largest state-owned high-tech communications company in China, has a proven record of establishing broadband projects in various countries around the world.
Funding for the project will be covered by a government loan from the Import-Export Bank of China, owned by the Chinese government.
During the interview, Mendoza admitted the copies of the contract which he signed in China were lost while in the possession of Emmanuel Nino Wee Ang, the Philippine commercial attaché in Hakou, Hainan, China.
Mendoza, however, said the lost contract was reconstituted through the “control” copies held by both Philippine and ZTE officials.
He said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) even helped in the investigation on how the copies of the contract were lost.
Mendoza said the DOTC is studying possible legal actions against Ang, an employee of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

‘Undue influence’

Abalos, on the other hand, claimed he could not see the reason why Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla had linked him to the NBN deal.
“I am not that influential,” he said.
On Wednesday, Padilla exposed in a privilege speech the alleged irregularities in the transaction, saying an inquiry was needed so that remedial legislation that would plug loopholes in existing laws could be crafted.
For instance, why would such a huge contract not be subject to public bidding? Padilla asked. He noted that an American firm and a local company had submitted proposals to undertake the project at $200 million less than the amount of the contract given to ZTE.
In fact, after the Chinese firm bagged the deal, the American embassy in Manila expressed concern over the lack of transparency on the transaction and the decision to negotiate the contract with ZTE.
In his privilege speech, Padilla directly linked Abalos to the transaction. He claimed Abalos traveled to Shenzhen, China several times, courtesy of ZTE, and played golf with ZTE officials there and when they visited Manila.
Padilla exposed the irregularities a day after filing with the Office of the Ombudsman a complaint for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act against Mendoza and two assistant DOTC secretaries along with other ZTE officials.
Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles, meanwhile, urged the House of Representatives to leave the NBN controversy to the Ombudsman.
Nograles said if the House decides to investigate alleged irregularities in the deal, it would just be “duplicating what the Ombudsman would do.”
“I do not see any point in Congress looking into something that the Ombudsman is investigating. We better await the result of their investigation,” Nograles told a news forum in Quezon City.
Nograles said he agrees with Padilla that an inquiry in aid of legislation is needed to plug loopholes in existing laws.
However, an investigation would be hampered by the criminal complaint the Nueva Vizcaya congressman filed on Tuesday with the Ombudsman’s office.
“Those accused in the Office of the Ombudsman will not talk and will invoke their right against self-incrimination. Thus, a House inquiry will just hit a blank wall,” he added.
As for Abalos’ involvement, Nograles said there should be more solid evidence than his alleged trips to China and golf games with ZTE officials.
“So far, we are only talking of speculations and allegations here,” he said.
Nograles said if Padilla has enough evidence, he could file a separate criminal case against the Comelec chairman.
Nograles said he could initiate impeachment proceedings against Abalos in the House.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson also criticized Abalos for getting involved in the NBN deal.
Lacson questioned the propriety of Abalos’ alleged use of undue influence, noting that the NBN deal was supposed to be a project under the DOTC.
“If you remember, Mendoza’s son was also a candidate and won a congressional seat in Batangas. Why should the Comelec chairman dip his hands into the transaction which is purely executive? That’s a $55 million question,” Lacson said. – With Jess Diaz, Rainier Allan Ronda, Christina Mendez