Sue GMA for NBN-ZTE deal, Ombudsman urged

A congressman and two other complainants in the case involving the controversial $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal urged the Ombudsman’s office yesterday to file a case against former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño, former Rep. Liza Maza of Gabriela and university professor Carol Araullo appealed to the Ombudsman to file the charges at the Sandiganbayan against Arroyo. Casiño said the complaint involving the NBN contract that was awarded to the Chinese firm ZTE Corp. has long been pending with the Ombudsman. “It would be best for the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file as many cases against GMA at the swiftest possible time and without violating due process. The momentum for accountability has started and it should not stop until justice is fully served,” he said. Casiño, Maza and Araullo went to the Ombudsman’s office yesterday to oppose the extension of time for Arroyo to file an answer to their complaint. They said the former president has already been given enough time to respond to the charges. They said Arroyo’s failure to comply with the Ombudsman’s directive to file a counter-affidavit means that she is waiving her right to answer the complaint. They added that the Ombudsman should now resolve the case and file charges against Arroyo with the Sandiganbayan. The complainants claimed the former president favored ZTE Corp. and had an undue interest in the NBN contract. Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel played golf in Shenzhen, China with ZTE officials two months before her administration gave the contract to the Chinese firm, they said. She even flew to Boao, China to witness the contract signing while her husband was recuperating in a hospital from a serious heart surgery, they said. Casiño said aside from the NBN-ZTE case, Bayan Muna and its allies have filed a separate plunder case against Arroyo and former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Rosario Uriarte in connection with the alleged diversion of PCSO’s charity funds to the agency’s intelligence budget. He noted that there is another plunder case, filed by former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez, that is pending with the Ombudsman’s office. Chavez’s complaint is in connection with the P728-million fertilizer scam. Two Senate investigation reports have held then President Arroyo liable for misuse of the money. Casiño lauded the DOJ and the Commission on Elections for filing an election sabotage complaint against Arroyo last Friday. At the same time, he commended Pasay City Regional Trial Court Judge Jesus Mupas for promptly acting on the complaint by ordering the arrest of the former president. “But the work has just begun. Arroyo’s camp will try to sabotage the DOJ-Comelec complaint. Already, they are questioning the court’s jurisdiction, claiming it should be the Sandiganbayan that should handle the case,” he said. Thus, the need for plunder cases to be filed with the Sandiganbayan, he stressed. Casiño said Arroyo was ordered to answer the complaint on Oct. 12, 2011 but she filed a motion asking for a 30-day extension on Oct. 21, 2011 that the Office of the Ombudsman granted. He explained that he and his fellow complainants did not file any opposition to the motion for extension “with the good faith expectation that said motion was not intended for delay and that the same would be filed on the promised date.” Casiño said Arroyo should not be allowed to again ask for an extension because this would be “an abuse of the rules and intended for delay.” He said that for many years during her presidency, Arroyo merely dismissed any investigation on the NBN-ZTE deal by her general denial of any accountability and by merely asserting that she has evidence to prove her innocence. “This undue delay is inimical not only to the prosecution of this case, but also to the entire attempt of the Filipino people to obtain justice from other criminal and civil cases filed against (Arroyo),” he stressed.