Abalos, Mike sink
deeper in NBN mess
Lozada: I told former Comelec chair
$130M commission was too much
BY JP LOPEZ
ZTE star witness Rodolfo Noel Lozada
Jr. yesterday confirmed that former Elections chair
Benjamin Abalos Sr. bribed former Planning Secretary
Romulo Neri with P200 million in exchange for approval
of the $329 million national broadband network deal with
China’s ZTE Corp.
During his Senate appearance that
lasted for almost eight hours, Lozada told Senate
President pro-tempore Jinggoy Estrada that Abalos was
apparently pleased that the negotiations with ZTE people
were proceeding smoothly that he told him that the P200
million would be released in advance.
The offer was supposedly made at the
Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong city last
September.
JOSE Miguel Arroyo yesterday denied
ever receiving a phone call from former Elections chairman
Benjamin Abalos Sr. concerning the national broadband
network as alleged by Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr.
"Mr. Lozada himself admits he is unsure
if it was me Chairman Abalos called, if that phone call
took place to begin with. And, further, Mr. Lozada admits
he did not hear the conversation," Arroyo said in a
statement.
He said he was forced to break his
self-imposed silence because of "distorted" news reports
saying he was responsible for the overpriced $329-million
broadband project which was eventually scrapped.
MALACAÑANG officials tried to stop Rodolfo
Noel Lozada Jr. from testifying in the anomalous NBN-ZTE deal by
sending him to Hong Kong on a contrived official trip.
When he decided to come back last Tuesday,
the officials staged his abduction at the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport on the basis of a cooked-up request for
protection by Lozada.
Lozada told yesterday’s Senate hearing that
his trip to Hong Kong last Jan. 30 was the idea of Deputy
Executive Secretary Manny Gaite.
