PALACE SAYS
JDV memoirs on NBN 'science fiction'
Statements should be made under 'oath'
By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:20:00 11/23/2008
Filed Under: NBN deal
MANILA, Philippines--Malacañang has dismissed former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.'s version of a meeting held in China on the National Broadband Network (NBN) deal, saying it would "not hold water" in the courts.
Jesus Santos, lawyer and spokesperson of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, shared the Palace position and urged De Venecia to recount details of the meeting—not in a biography—but under oath.
"If it's really true and if his sense of perception has not been damaged yet," he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a phone interview, "he should say these things under oath."
"JDV is not only a liar. He's a congenital liar. What he said in his book is one big lie," Santos added.
Reached by phone, former Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr., who has been accused by various witnesses as having brokered for the overpriced deal, declined to comment on De Venecia's allegation that he had virtually monopolized the meeting involving President Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband and officials of China's ZTE Corp.
Abalos said he was still playing golf and would rather read the Philippine Daily Inquirer report on De Venecia's upcoming biography before issuing any statement.
"It's easy to come up with a biography, but if it's going to be used for another motivation or intention, it will not hold water because it's just a story, a hearsay," deputy presidential spokesperson Anthony Golez said in an interview with DzRB.
"If they really want to use it, it has to be appreciated by the courts. Only then can we call that a biography of truth. Otherwise, it will not be labeled as an autobiography, but as science fiction," Golez said.
De Venecia, who was ousted as Speaker earlier in 2008, spilled the beans in his biography titled "Global Filipino: The Authorized Biography of Jose de Venecia Jr., the Visionary Five-Time Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines."
Recalling the meeting on Nov. 2, 2006 in Shenzhen, China, he said the Arroyo couple hardly talked while the $329-million NBN project was being discussed over lunch with ZTE officials.
De Venecia said he was invited to the meeting and had a "family picture" to show.
He said Ms Arroyo was initially sold on pushing through with the project on a build-operate-transfer scheme, which would keep the Philippine government from using taxpayers' money for it.
But after lunch, Mike Arroyo allegedly came up with a government-to-government formula that supposedly sealed the deal for the Chinese telecommunications company.
Mr. Arroyo heatedly denied De Venecia's version as he left the St. Luke's Medical Center on Sunday.
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