BY JP LOPEZ

FIRST Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo yesterday declined the Senate invitation for tomorrow’s hearing of the national broadband deal, saying he is under orders from doctors not to expose himself "to any form of stress."

In a letter to Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Blue Ribbon committee chairman, Mr. Arroyo said: "Given the high risk of my attending, I am therefore compelled to respectfully decline your invitation."

Mr. Arroyo submitted a medical certificate but media failed to get a copy as Blue Ribbon committee director general Rudy Quimbo said he has to confer with Cayetano first.

Mr. Arroyo underwent open heart surgery last April for aortic aneurysm.

He was linked to the $329 million ZTE-NBN deal by businessman Jose "Joey" de Venecia III who claimed he was told by the First Gentleman to "back off" from the project in a meeting early this year.

Under Senate rules, a resource person or witness who fails to appear is issued an invitation twice, followed by a subpoena, a show-cause order why he should not be cited for contempt, and eventually a citation for contempt accompanied by an arrest order.

It was not clear if the same rules would apply to Mr. Arroyo.

De Venecia asked the Makati police to investigate an alleged plot by Transport secretary Leandro Mendoza, DOTC assistant secretary Reynaldo Berroya and Bureau of Corrections director Ricardo Dapat to assassinate him and his father Speaker Jose de Venecia over his bribery allegations on the national broadband deal.

The young De Venecia said the plan was relayed to him by former Army chief Jaime de los Santos, a mistah of Berroya in PMA Class ’69.

"General Delos Santos told us (my father and I) that I, Jose de Venecia III, am a target for elimination. The elimination plot was supposed to include my father Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., but the generals plotting this elimination felt that it is very difficult to eliminate the Speaker as he is too high a target and is the fourth most powerful man in the land," he said.

De los Santos, in a statement, denied "the imputations attributed to me by Jose "Joey" de Venecia III regarding an alleged attempt to kill him. The statement of Joey de Venecia III that there is a plot to kill him is absurd."

"I know my classmates secretary Mendoza and Asec Berroya. They are professional, patriotic, and nationalistic fellowmen and competent leaders. Mendoza, Berroya and myself all belonged to ‘A’ company, we were roommates and we were more than brothers when we were cadets," he said.

Under the supposed plan, a gun-for-hire inmate from the National Bilibid Prisons would slip out to kill the De Venecias.

"I can see that these threats are part of the payback that I get for deciding to come out and disclose what I know about this immoral and grossly disadvantageous deal," said the young De Venecia.

He said De los Santos informed them of the plan at his father’s Dasmariñas residence Oct. 19.

He said De los Santos heard the plan right from Mendoza’s mouth during a recent meeting. Berroya and Dapat were also present.

"I don’t know if General De los Santos has a grudge with General Mendoza but as far as I know, he felt it was his moral obligation to warn me and my father," he said.

He added he might ask the Senate to provide him with additional security.

The three former generals could not be reached for comment.

Speaker De Venecia said he has advised his son to take extra precaution and at the same reiterated his full support.

De Venecia said Joey is doing his share of reforms for the country.

"If not for my son, the ZTE contract would not have been cancelled. The President cancelled, so we saved the Philippines P16 billion. So these are concrete achievements," he said. – With Ashzel Hachero, Raymond Africa and Regina Bengco