New NBN witness fears being stalked, might back out--Suplico
By Norman Bordadora
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:26:00 05/18/2008
MANILA, Philippines--The new witness in the controversial National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with China's ZTE Corp. might back out of the Senate inquiry, fearful that the Arroyo administration had learned about his identity, Iloilo Vice Gov. Rolex Suplico admitted on Sunday.
Suplico told reporters the administration might have learned who the witness was from among those who joined President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's trip to Shanghai, China, and the ZTE headquarters in November 2006.
According to Suplico, suspicious-looking persons have started staking out the witness's neighborhood and asking his neighbors about him.
"Threatening witnesses has now become a modus operandi of this government every time it is confronted with the truth," Suplico said at the weekly Balitaan sa Tinapayan (Newstalk over Bread) press forum in Manila.
Suplico said the witness was seriously thinking about moving to another house.
Asked if there was a chance the witness would "back out" of the Senate inquiry into the $329-million NBN-ZTE deal, Suplico said: "That's possible."
"He is the best judge of his own security…. He has children like you and me," he said.
Suplico said the witness only wanted "to help in the search for the truth."
According to Suplico, there may have been two small busloads of officials and aides who accompanied Ms Arroyo, her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo and Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. to ZTE's Shenzhen headquarters.
"If there were 50 officials and not-so-high officials and aides, it wouldn't take 100 persons to background-check each of those who went on that trip," Suplico said.
Suplico presented a blowup picture of top-level officials of the Chinese telecommunications firm who were with President Arroyo on the golf course in Shenzhen.
"It will be best for us if ZTE officials identified who these persons were," Suplico said.
Suplico, a lawyer, said that so far, the witness did not need to execute an affidavit on what he knew about the lunch meeting and golf game between Ms Arroyo and the ZTE officials.
He said three parties—Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, former Commission on Elections Chair Benjamin Abalos Sr., and Gina de Venecia, wife of the then Speaker, confirmed the trip and Ms Arroyo's meeting with the ZTE officials.
"What he has so far said is that Ms Arroyo went to Shenzhen and met with ZTE officials on Nov. 2, 2006, and he has pictures to show (for it)," Suplico said.
"With the admission of Secretary Ermita, Chairman Abalos and Speaker De Venecia, through his wife Gina, this fact has been confirmed," he said.
Asked if the witness had more evidence or pictures, Suplico said, "That is possible."
Suplico had a picture of Ms Arroyo riding a golf cart blown up and cropped the images of a man and a woman who were riding in a golf cart behind her.
The man in a yellow shirt was also in another picture standing beside De Venecia on the Shenzhen golf course while the woman in a pink shirt was taking Ms Arroyo's picture with the city's name in the background.
The woman's shirt had the words "Romantic Rose" on the front.
Suplico said he presumed the persons were top officials of ZTE.
Suplico said that as parties to an alleged disadvantageous deal in the Philippines, the ZTE officials involved in the allegedly anomalous contract may be held liable under the country's antigraft law.
"Based on these pictures alone, there may be no liability. But taken against the backdrop of the [Romulo] Neri's cry of bribery, they may be liable under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act," Suplico said.
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