Inconsistencies in GMA version

GOTCHA, Published in The Philippine Star, Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo says she learned of sleaze in the ZTE deal only the night before the Apr. 21, 2007 signing. Hmm, that’s strange. Sec. Romy Neri swore that Ben Abalos as far back as January had offered him P200 million just to back the deal, and that he reported the bribery at once to her. Joey de Venecia and Jun Lozada somehow corroborated it. Joey testified at the Senate that the P200 million came after he himself had rejected a $10-million offer from Abalos. Lozada said he stopped working on the deal on Jan. 18, and by then he had learned of Neri’s reporting the P200 million to Arroyo. Why, even Abalos somehow confirmed the date in admitting he did golf with Neri sometime then — not on the eve of the signing.

Arroyo says she went on with the signing in Boao lest she embarrass China as an ally. Hmm, queer too. She had no Chinese state counterpart in that event — not the President, or the Prime Minister, or even just the ambassador. Arroyo not only breached protocol in witnessing the signing, but also left a very sick husband for a deal she knew to be dirty. Two days prior she canceled a Chinese loan for police housing at the last minute, just to accommodate the ZTE deal, with no regard for Chinese feelings.

Assuming the President did learn of the signing too late, there still are many inconsistencies in her story. Like, why did she cancel the onerous deal only after five months on Sept. 22, instead of pronto to fulfill her sworn duty as President? Did she forget her oath of office, to wit: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation”?

And between the signing and canceling, why did she not order an investigation of the fraud? Why instead did she let Sec. Larry Mendoza and Asec. Lorenzo Formoso and Elmer Soñeja spend government money in ads to claim that it’s clean? Why did she let them lie in the Senate? Why did she let Neri invoke her E.O. 464 on executive privilege, when there was a scam to unravel? Why did she let Secs. Ed Ermita and Ignacio Bunye call the Senate investigations on the anomaly mere “political noise”? Why did she let Secs. Peter Favila, Gary Teves and Sergio Apostol mislead the public that the contract is only a memo of agreement, an executive understanding, and whatever else, as coverup? Indeed, why has she not fired them for lying?

Why has Arroyo not protected Lozada, who was well publicized to know about the sleaze that she too supposedly knew since April? Why has she not ordered the prosecution of airport officers Angel Atutubo and Octavio Lina, police Col. Paul Mascariñas, and agent Roger Valeroso for kidnapping Lozada? Why has she not brought charges against Malacañang official Manuel Gaite, Sec. Lito Atienza, former chief of staff Mike Defensor, and lawyer Antonio Bautista for attempting to silence Lozada?

In the same manner, why has she not declared corruptor ZTE Corp. of China persona non grata for breaking Philippine laws and insulting the Senate? Why did she not admit knowledge of ZTE graft early enough, and so avoid wasting the Supreme Court’s time in determining, from a suit by Rolex Suplico, that it was anomalous?

Why did she not ask China for help in getting to the bottom of the anomaly, since that ally is bound by international laws to help prosecute corruptors? Why did her admin proceed to sign in Aug. the loan that would cover the $330-million ZTE deal? Why did she rescind it only after the Senate had begun an investigation of the scam, and the Supreme Court had restrained its enforcement?

If there was sleaze in the contract, why did she let her congressmen-sons bring down her closest ally Speaker Joe de Venecia, who couldn’t stop his son Joey from exposing the scam? Why does she not stop Justice Sec. Raul Gonzalez’s fishing expedition, disguised as a fact-finding with no legal basis, whose sole aim is to find out how they can sue Lozada?

Indeed if there was sleaze, why doesn’t Arroyo tell the whole truth instead of a calculatedly cryptic story?

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com