MANILA, Philippines--Former Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos Jr. announced on Sunday his intention to file a P100-P200-million libel suit against National Broadband Network deal witness Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada Jr. for directly linking him to the bribes and overpricing in the now-scrapped contract.

Abalos' lawyer, Salvador Panelo, told reporters in a press conference, that they were set to ask the Senate for the videotape and transcript of Lozada's testimony on the broadband contract with the Chinese firm ZTE Corp. in preparing their libel suit against Lozada.

"We are preparing an affidavit complaint against him (Lozada). We will sue him for libel based on his testimony imputing a crime against Mr Abalos," said Panelo.

"We will also file a case of perjury against him because he lied under oath (in the Senate)."

Abalos came out swinging in his defense, saying he was not fazed by the fact that three witnesses have pinned him down in the Senate for brokering the NBN deal and trying to wangle a $130-million kickback from the project.

The other witnesses were Jose "Joey" de Venecia III, founder of Amsterdam Holdings Inc. which was elbowed out of the project, and Romulo Neri, former director general of the National Economic and Development Authority, who reviewed the project proposal for the NBN project and who now sits as chairman of the Commission on Higher Education.

"It's not how many witnesses one has against me. It's the credibility of the witnesses that matters," said Abalos, when asked about the three damaging testimonies presented in the Senate in the last five months.

The former poll chairman said Lozada's testimony was "riddled with inconsistencies."

To discredit Lozada, Abalos zeroed in on the former consultant's claim that he and Abalos met in September 2006 during which Abalos allegedly tried to force a loan agreement for the NBN project that would include his $130-million kickback.

Lozada testified that a day after that meeting, a letter from the Chinese ambassador was sent to Malacañang, approving a loan package for the NBN deal. To disprove this, Abalos showed to reporters the purported letter from the Chinese embassy, dated "December 2, 2006," not September as Lozada said.

"You can see from here that Lozada's statement should crumble," Abalos argued.

Abalos also decried the conspiracy against him and First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. He accused the De Venecias of trying to destroy him because of his failure to get the NBN contract for the younger De Venecia, who was a "bad shot" to the Chinese.

Abalos insisted that the younger De Venecia incurred $10-million debt from the ZTE Corp for a past telephone-related project that he was never able to settle. (De Venecia III had previously denied involvement in the unsettled loan.)

In a dramatic and emotional appearance at the Senate, preceded by his alleged abduction by government agents, Lozada testified at the Senate on Friday that Abalos bullied his way to a $130-million kickback from the project that led to the contract's overpricing from $132 million to $260 million. Lozada said he was already out of the project when the contract price further ballooned to $329 million.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who witnessed the contract signing in China in 2007, was forced to cancel the contract due to De Venecia's and Neri's testimonies. Abalos was forced to resign from the Comelec.

Neri, meanwhile, has refused to testify on facts about the NBN deal which he gathered from his conversations with President Macapagal-Arroyo, citing executive privilege, the power of the President to protect "state secrets" that might affect national security and international diplomacy.

The presidential palace had tried to distance itself from the scandal, but has since said the deal was above board and accused Lozada of lying.

Analysts have warned that Lozada's testimony could lead to further political instability in the Philippines.

Arroyo has survived two coup attempts against her and three impeachment attempts in Congress due to persistent allegations of corruption in her government.