SENATORS are taking with caution the testimony last Tuesday of ZTE technical consultant Dante Madriaga that President Arroyo and her husband Mike received "advances" from China’s ZTE Corp for the national broadband project.

Senate President Manuel Villar said they are double checking Madriaga’s testimony amid fears that he could be a "red herring."

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Madriaga’s statements would have to be corroborated by other evidence and testimonies.

"Karamihan ng kanyang tinestify kahapon wala naman siyang talagang personal knowledge kasi ni-relay lang sa kanya ni Leo San Miguel, kaya napaka-importanteng testigo si Leo San Miguel," Lacson said.

Lacson said efforts are being exerted to bring San Miguel, a member of the group of former elections chair Benjamin Abalos Sr. to possibly corroborate the testimony of Madriaga.

Lacson nevertheless said some of Madriaga’s statements coincided with the testimonies of Lozada and De Venecia.

"Pero maraming nai-reveal dun na nakakagulat at tumatama naman dun sa mga circumstances," Lacson said.

Sen. Mar Roxas III said the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) should be alerted on the big amount of money that allegedly changed hands among the "greedy groups" related to the NBN-ZTE contract.

Madriaga testified Tuesday that the First Couple and Abalos’ group got around $41 million in advances from the ZTE, which came in three tranches.

He said Abalos’ group is comprised of Leo San Miguel, Ruben Reyes, retired Gen. Quirino dela Torre and Jimmy Paz. Madriaga said San Miguel, a former owner of Home Cable, was his immediate superior in the NBN-ZTE project.

Roxas said the senators appreciate the testimony of Madriaga but they need documentary evidence to build a stronger case.

Majority leader Francis Pangilinan said Madriaga must still be put to strict scrutiny since he may just be part of a scheme to undermine the integrity of the Senate proceedings.

"The Senate should not let its guard down, we cannot discount the possibility that efforts are underway to undermine the credibility of the proceedings with unreliable witnesses and testimonies," he said.

Pangilinan said that without corroborative testimonies, Madriaga’s allegations remain as "mere hearsay."

He said the testimonies of the other witnesses, such Lozada, de Venecia and Romulo Neri, are already enough to establish that criminal acts had been committed in the ZTE-NBN deal.

UNTRUTHS

Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza branded the testimony of Madriaga as hearsay, full of speculations and even a part of his imagination.

Mendoza said there were a lot of "untruths" citing as example Madriaga’s claim that the supposed contract was not really missing.

He said this is contrary to a report of the NBI and a pending case with the Ombudsman that stemmed from the missing documents.

He belied Madriaga’s cost estimate of NBN project which he said was probably made at the time when the project was still being studied at the level of the Commission on Information and Communications and Technology.

He reiterated that the whole NBN project was estimated to cost $329 million to cover the entire country including the sixth class municipalities as against the initial offer of $262 million for only 30 percent of the what government initially required.

‘TULALA’

Trade Secretary Peter Favila challenged Madriaga to appear before a community of bishops and testify about the events surrounding the broadband deal.

Favila denied that President Arroyo was raring to make the trip to Hainan and Boao in China in April 21, 2007 for the Boao Forum despite the precarious condition of the First Gentleman following a heart bypass on April 9.

He said the President was there to represent the country in the Boao Forum which is the Asian counterpart of the World Economic Forum that is annually held in Davos, and at that time co-chaired by former president Fidel Ramos.

He described the President as already "tulala" after attending the Boao Forum as they prepared to return to Manila.

"I can tell you that at that point in time I could see the President, her mind was really, I don’t know how to best describe it, parang tulala, tulala ba iyun sa tagalog?" he said.

TALL TALES

Ruy Rondain, counsel of the First Gentleman, said the testimony of Madriaga proved he "has no credibility as a witness" and his allegations against the First Couple are "all lies".

Rondain said the testimony also betrays the "hidden hands behind this ill-motivated witch-hunt intended to discredit the administration while camouflaged as a Senate investigation in aid of legislation".

"This is the same Madriaga who late last year had been reported to be peddling his testimony for P5 to P10 million." – Dennis Gadil and Jocelyn Montemayor