THE Chinese embassy yesterday assailed Sen. Ma. Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal for what it said were her "extremely irresponsible" claims of a "collusion" between First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and Chinese Ambassador Li Jinjun in connection with the NBN-ZTE broadband contract.

"What Senator Madrigal said doesn’t tally with the facts," embassy spokesman Peng Xiubin said.

At Tuesday’s ZTE hearing, Madrigal showed a letter by then Socio-economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri dated March 29, 2007 addressed to Li regarding the national broadband network and cyber education projects with the marginal note "copy for FG".

She said the marginal note could imply collusion between the First Gentleman and the Chinese ambassador.

The National Economic and Development Authority, in a statement read by Trade Secretary Peter Favila at a Palace press briefing, denied that the "marginal note" referred to Mike Arroyo.

"The document that was shown purportedly with the marginal note of FG…. was FGI, who is Florante G. Igtiben of the Public Investment Staff….He serves in the NEDA secretariat for the ICC," the NEDA said. Igtiben is the chief of the Asia Pacific Division of the PIS that handles projects funded by China.

Favila said that the way the documents with its marginal note was presented appeared to have some "malice in it because the letter ‘I’ was conveniently erased, I suppose".

Madrigal, in a statement, said she was saddened by the reaction of the Chinese embassy "but my duty is to the Filipino people."

She said it is her obligation as a Filipino citizen and as a senator to reveal the truth no matter who gets hurt. "It is in the interest of both the Filipino and Chinese people that we ferret out the truth."

A source at the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Senate cannot summon a foreign embassy official, their diplomatic immunity.

The source said the most the Senate could do is to "declare such persons as persona non grata".

"In the case of the ZTE, the Senate should just find their representatives and officials here in Manila and compel their attendance," the source said.

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel had asked the Senate to subpoena ZTE president Yu Yong and Fan Yang, the commercial attaché of the Chinese Embassy, to shed light on the overpricing and bribery allegations in the NBN contract.

ZTE (Zhong Xing Telecommunications Corp.), in a statement, denied the claim of ZTE consultant Dante Madriaga before senators on Tuesday that the telecoms firm advanced $41 million in exchange for its bagging the NBN project.

"ZTE reiterates that it did not bribe anyone as indeed the company’s quotation for the NBN project is reasonable, competitive and fair.

"Mr. Madriaga never directly took part in NBN project operations. We think Mr. Madriaga testified last Tuesday on the Senate on matters he did not participate in. Despite taking an oath in the Senate hearing, Mr. Madriaga’s testimony was obviously not based on factual knowledge.

"As early as August 2006, ZTE Corporation submitted to CICT (Commission on Information and Communications Technology) its NBN proposal with the price of $262 million. Due to the substantial change in technology adoption and network coverage enlargement requested by the government, ZTE revised its proposal and submitted its final proposal with the price of $329 million to DOTC in February 2007.

"All ZTE contract documents have been disclosed by the Senate and are available for public review. The documents would show that ZTE’s proposal adopts state-of-the-art technology and would provide nationwide coverage.

ZTE said it is confident that its project proposal would withstand judicial scrutiny and that the outcome of the judicial and impartial investigation would vindicate its good name and reputation in the global telecommunications industry. – Anthony Ian Cruz