MANILA, Philippines--Social Security System Administrator Romulo Neri, who got previously embroiled in the National Broadband Network deal with China’s ZTE Corp. has disavowed any knowledge of a meeting between the First Couple and the ZTE officials in Shenzen, China, in 2006, as claimed by former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.

Neri had an insider’s look into the negotiations for the aborted and allegedly overpriced $329-million NBN deal because he was director general of the National Economic Development Authority who studied the various project proposals for NBN.

He earlier refused to reveal details of his conversations with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the ZTE deal during a Senate inquiry under the cloak of executive privilege and the Supreme Court sided with him.

Asked to comment on De Venecia’s revelations, Neri said, "I have no knowledge of that meeting in China. My testimony was based on what I know," said Neri in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

When asked about the build-operate-transfer scheme favored by De Venecia and the direct contracting scheme under a loan arrangement eventually favored by the government, Neri said, "Both have costs to the general public in terms of government expenditures. I have already said that to the Senate in my testimony."

In the case of the build-operate-transfer scheme proposed by the former Speaker's son, businessman Jose "Joey" de Venecia III, Neri said that the government would have to pay in terms of "usage cost" of the broadband system paid to the proponent. In the case of the government-to-government loan, Neri said the cost would come in the form systems operating expenses and loan amortizations.

"The advantage of a government-to-government loan is the very low interest of 3 percent over 20 years while a private sector BOT proponent will be lucky if he can get financing at over 10 percent for 10 years. The government-to-government terms gives an effective discount of about 35 percent on the project cost," said Neri.

In his only appearance at the Senate, Neri testified to being offered a P200-million bribe by former Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos Jr. and that he personally informed the President of the offer to back up the ZTE bid for NBN.

While Neri claimed the President told him to reject the bribe, he clammed up when the Senators wanted to probe deeper into the President's interest in the project, specifically on whether she lobbied for the ZTE proposal that led to the shift in the NEDA's policy on the NBN.