BY DENNIS GADIL

SEN. Panfilo Lacson yesterday said former Planning Secretary Romulo Neri cannot evade the NBN-ZTE broadband inquiry as there was nothing in the Supreme Court's decision Tuesday which says he could not be summoned again by the Senate.

"Kailangan sagutin niya 'yung mga ibang tanong kasi tatlo lang naman 'yung hindi puwedeng talakayin kapag humarap siya," Lacson said.

The high court, by a vote of 9-6, ruled that Neri correctly invoked executive privilege when senators asked three questions about his conversations with President Arroyo on the broadband deal.

BY EVANGELINE DE VERA

ZTE whistleblower Jose de Venecia III yesterday sought protection from the Supreme Court to stop the military and police from harassing him.

In a 17-page petition for writ of habeas data, De Venecia also asked the high court to enjoin Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., the Intelligence Service of the AFP, PNP chief Avelino Razon and other persons acting on their behalf, from conducting surveillance activities against him and other personalities involved in the anomalous NBN-ZTE broadband deal.

De Venecia also asked the Court to enjoin the respondents to produce all materials, including recordings and transcriptions in their possession obtained through wiretapping activities on petitioner's private communications, and stop them from sending his wiretapped conversations over the YouTube, an online video and audio sharing forum.