The ZTE-NBN Deal: What now?

[giddyboy]

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[color=navy]Either its HARASSMENT, PUNISHMENT or UNFAIR ASSESSMENT(FRAME-UP), maybe a combination of two or all three.

it's plain POLITICAL SHAKEDOWN...

[denzkie]

naana man news nga na cleared na c JDV about ana nga issue! lisud na nga issue kay tanan man apil ana gud!

[abuot]

isig hinubuay lang sila ug purol...
..sige lang sila concentrate pa tak2x sa mga kontra pero ang ilang mga obligasyon kay gipangpasagdaan na

[Rance]

Any news about the ZTE investigations in the senate? is there any progress? it looks like Lozada as a person is more popular now than the case itself. Does Senators Lacson & Jamby or Pimentel come up with a new whistleblower? when it will going to end?

[giddyboy]

Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Sun.Star Network Online

SC favors Neri's plea on executive privilege

MANILA -- Voting 9-6, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo correctly invoked executive privilege in refusing to answer three questions asked by the Senate in connection with its inquiry into the controversial US$329-million broadband project awarded to the Chinese firm ZTE Corporation.

The tribunal, now dominated by appointees of Arroyo, granted the petition of Higher Education Secretary Romulo Neri seeking to enjoin senators from compelling him to testify on confidential matters, saying doing so would be detrimental to the country's diplomatic relations with China.

Penned by Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, the SC ruling gave weight on the argument of Neri's lawyer Antonio Bautista that Neri's conversations with the President "dealt with delicate and sensitive national security and diplomatic matters relating to the impact of the bribery scandal involving high government officials and the possible loss of confidence of foreign investors and lenders in the country."

The decision is also anchored on technicalities ensuing from the failure of the Senate to publish its rules at the opening of the 14th Congress.

Pursuant to Section 21 of Article VI of the Constitution, the Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its committees may conduct inquiries in aid of legislation in accordance with its duly published rules of procedure.

Aside from de Castro, the other justices who believed that the three questions were part of privileged communications are Associate Justices Leonardo Quisumbing, Renato Corona, Dante Tinga, Minita Chico-Nazario, Presbiterio Velasco, Antonio Eduardo Nachura, Ruben Reyes, and Arturo Brion.

WHAT can u say? holiday?

[omad]

Cheap politicians exposed by San Miguel
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:41:00 03/26/2008

SENATORS PANFILO LACSON and Jamby Madrigal showed their true colors as cheap politicians when they subjected Leo San Miguel to cruel and relentless questioning during the protracted Senate investigation of the NBN-ZTE deal. Despite their bullying and badgering, San Miguel stuck to his guns and convinced the viewing public that he was telling the truth.

Lacson and Madrigal were fully rebuffed by San Miguel. They were embarrassed and humiliated when San Miguel refused to give in to their incessant bullying and browbeating. San Miguel, who admitted he was a mere technical consultant of ZTE, was able to withstand the relentless attacks of the two senators because he was simply telling the truth, namely, that he knew nothing about the alleged bribery and kickbacks in the NBN-ZTE agreement.

The other opposition senators, while less vicious in their treatment of San Miguel, were almost just as guilty as Lacson and Madrigal in treating San Miguel as a hostile witness. In fact, it was Lacson who introduced San Miguel as his witness presumably to nail down the involvement of the First Couple in the case. Lacson was taken aback when San Miguel denied that he knew anything about the alleged anomalies. Both he and Madrigal accused him of "lying all day." To this the beleaguered witness could only retort, "I am sorry I cannot say what you want me to say."

The San Miguel fiasco belied the opposition-controlled Senate’s posturing that it is conducting the probe in aid of legislation. As Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye colorfully said, the investigation is in aid of grandstanding. Others would add, in aid of destabilization and political aggrandizement.

Time to fold down the tent and end this bizarre entertainment that is no longer amusing to the public.--DENNIS TI. via e-mail

source

[Rance]

Saw this blog about the truth about the ZTE-NBN deal

http://patriots4truth.blogspot.com/

Saturday, February 23, 2008
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ZTE-NBN DEAL
Author: PATRIOTS FOR TRUTH

To our Fellow Patriot:

For the past few weeks, we have heard what many people believe as the “truth” behind the issues surrounding the ZTE-National Broadband Network controversy. The latest witness in the Senate investigation into this issue, former Philippine Forest Corp. president Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, has come out with damning statements against several personalities supposedly involved in getting the ZTE-NBN contract overpriced to the detriment of the Filipino people.

Jun Lozada has been commended and hailed as a “hero” for testifying before the Senate about the details he supposedly knows about the ZTE-NBN deal. He has portrayed himself as a helpless victim caught in the crossfire of this scandal who was left with no choice but to tell the “truth.”

But is it really the truth that we are hearing? Is Lozada’s “truth” as unblemished as he claims it to be, or is it tainted by his interpretation of events to suit his needs and purposes? Is he the soft-spoken, helpless victim as he portrays himself to be?

What is happening now involves the future of our nation We cannot allow half-truths or twisted versions of the truth to prevail and set off a political crisis where the Filipino people will end up as the ultimate losers because they have been deprived of what they need to know and misled by so-called “reluctant heroes.”

We, the Patriots for Truth, seek to favor no one. Our mission is to expose the truth, not selective parts of it, but the entire, unsullied truth. A patriot for truth does not seek to save his soul but ends up saving his hide. A patriot for truth is one who is willing to face and accept the truth whoever gets hurt, whatever its outcome.

The clips that you are about to hear forms only the first part of our mission. We will continue to seek the truth and expose it to the public. We will remain relentless in our mission. Expect more of the truth to come out in the following days.

Be not afraid of the truth!
http://patriots4truth.blogspot.com/

Youtube links:
http://www.youtube.com/user/patriots4truth

[Rance]

The truth about Lozada and JDV -> http://www.youtube.com/user/patriots4truth

[omar50071]

Fighting corruption the Arroyo way

By Neal Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:21:00 03/28/2008


MANILA, Philippines—Even if, because of the controversial Supreme Court decision, Romulo Neri, former director general of the National Economic and Development Authority, does not have to answer the three particular questions the senators want to ask him, we already know the answers to them. What are these questions?

1. Did President Macapagal-Arroyo tell him, after he informed her that Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos tried to bribe him with P200 million, to endorse the ZTE broadband deal?

2. Did Ms Arroyo follow up the project after that?

3. Did she direct him to make it a priority?

Neri's answer to all three, if he is to tell the truth, can only be "yes." For if it were "no," why is it difficult for him to answer the questions? This only shows that he knows he will have to answer in the affirmative. Rather than lie, he would rather not answer them.

But because the senators want to directly link Arroyo to the ZTE deal, to establish that link in black and white and pin her down, they want Neri to answer those questions. But he doesn't have to anymore. By his actions, he has implied his answers. Three big "yes, yes, yes." So let's take it from there; ask him other questions that will shed light on the controversy.

On the first question, Neri already answered that: When he told her Abalos tried to bribe him with P200 million, she said "Don't accept it." But she did not tell him not to endorse it because it was obviously tainted. The natural reaction of anybody not in on it should have been to stop it and immediately order an investigation and the prosecution of the guilty parties. But she did not do any of these. So what can you infer from that?

Long before she went to China to witness the signing of the ZTE deal (for which she had to leave her very sick husband), she had already been told of the bribe attempt. Still she went, to show her approval of the deal. What can you infer from that? You do not need Neri's answer for that.

It may be that Neri is not confident he can get another job in the private sector once he loses his government post or is deathly afraid of what will happen to him if he answers those three questions truthfully. Probably the same things that were tried on Rodolfo Lozada Jr. were done to him. But Lozada still followed his conscience while Neri did not. So what kind of a man is he?

* * *

And what kind of a President is Arroyo? She keeps saying one thing but keeps doing the opposite. She keeps repeating (the latest was in a speech last Wednesday) that she is vigorously fighting corruption and winning. Fighting corruption? Winning?

If she is fighting corruption why is she preventing Neri and other officials from telling what they know of corruption in the ZTE deal? Why did she issue EO 464 to prevent her Cabinet members from testifying before congressional investigative bodies? Shouldn't she encourage everybody to speak up when they know of instances of corruption? Shouldn't she tell Neri to go ahead and tell everything he knows because that will unmask the corrupt in her government? How can you fight corruption when you prevent witnesses from talking?

If Arroyo is fighting corruption, why is Lozada being demonized by her administration? Lozada is the best witness so far against corruption in government, but why is the Arroyo administration wasting so much money, talent(?), people, black propaganda, and effort to discredit him? Instead of going after Lozada, shouldn't she go after Abalos et al.? Instead of threatening, scaring and trying to destroy witnesses, shouldn't she encourage them, invite others to speak up, and even offer rewards to those who will blow the whistle on the corrupt, the same way she offers million-peso rewards for information on other criminals?

As for "winning the war against corruption," why are the kickbacks to government officials getting bigger and bigger? Why are there so many anomalous deals? Why are public officials no longer afraid, or ashamed, of being caught in questionable deals?

And what happened to those involved in anomalies like the Piatco Terminal III contract, the Comelec voting machines, the Macapagal Boulevard, the fertilizer scam? What has happened to those who were caught in such deals, the Joc-Joc Bolantes and their ilk? How many of them have been sent to jail? None. How many have been prosecuted? None. How many have been charged? None. How many have even been identified? Except for Bolante and a few others, no more.

Come to think of it, how many have been sent to prison as a result of Arroyo's campaign against corruption during her two terms? I think you can count them with the fingers of one hand. That's winning the war against corruption?

On the contrary, I think it is corruption that is winning the war. In fact, there is a scramble among public officials to provide for their future, now that the Arroyo administration is bowing out. That is why almost every official has a deal up his sleeve. That is why everybody is trying to sell anything that can be sold. The most profitable are public lands occupied by the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, the Bilibid Prisons, the National Center for Mental Health and Welfareville, among others. They will fetch billions, even trillions of pesos. Think of the legitimate commissions alone. We are not even talking here of the overprice. The government even tried to sell land that cannot be sold, like the Quezon Institute, Camp Aguinaldo, and the Manila Seedling Bank Foundation gardens.

Arroyo indeed has a peculiar way of fighting corruption.

* * *

KAPIHAN NOTES: Invited guests at Monday's Kapihan sa Manila (Hotel) are Sen. Mar Roxas on the Supreme Court decision on executive privilege; NFA Administrator Jessup P. Navarro on the rice crisis; and PNP Director General Avelino Razon on police matters.

link:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquirer...the-Arroyo-way

[tmselbor]

who knows the truth? in the senate hearing they said they want to know the truth and to know who's telling the truth. but in my opion they are talking about impossibility because it's obvious that everybody is lying about that zte-nbn deal. for more insights about the issue reas the artilcle in the link: http://byterslair.i.ph/blogs/bytersl...eaction-paper/