'Greedy Group' member may be surprise witness
By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:56:00 03/08/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- The latest witness that Sen. Panfilo Lacson will present at the resumption of the Senate inquiry into the National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with China's ZTE Corp. is believed to be a member of the so-called "Greedy Group."
The witness is expected to provide first-hand information on the purported $41-million advance made by ZTE to the First Couple and other government officials and their cronies to secure the $329-million NBN project.
The Senate has issued subpoenas to seven persons, including the purported members of the "Greedy Group--businessman Ruben Reyes (said to be the bagman), retired Chief Supt. Quirino "Torch" dela Torre, cable television executive Leo San Miguel, and former Commission on Elections Chair Benjamin Abalos Sr.--to compel their appearance at the hearing scheduled on Tuesday.
Cabinet member to testify?
Witness Dante Madriaga said it was San Miguel who had recruited him to cobble the NBN proposal for ZTE, and that the latter was the main source of his testimony in the Senate two weeks ago.
Madriaga told reporters that after the new witness on Tuesday, another witness harnessed by Lacson, most probably a Cabinet member, would step up to the witness stand.
Asked why the witnesses were not being presented at the hearing at the same time, Madriaga likened the queue of witnesses to dominoes better toppled one block at a time.
Sen. Jamby Madrigal said she was not in a position to disclose the identity of the new witness.
"The new witness may deliver potentially damaging testimony and should be protected from harassment and threats from the Arroyo henchmen. We cannot allow another repeat of the Lozada abduction. Let us wait for his appearance on Tuesday so that the truth may come out," she said.
The Senate's Office of the Sergeant at Arms (OSAA) has also issued subpoenas to ZTE officials Fan Yang and Yu Yong as well as Abalos' man Friday, Jimmy Paz.
Senate President Manuel Villar warned Friday that no-show witnesses would immediately be ordered arrested.
"Some of the personalities mentioned by [witness] Madriaga have said they would like to come to the Senate to clear their name, and we are now providing them that opportunity. We do not enjoy issuing arrest warrants. We do so out of reluctance and as a last resort. This is part of the job of the Senate and we will not abdicate our duty to ferret out the truth on cases where the public interest is at stake," Villar said in a statement.
Mum's the word
Lacson, who had facilitated the appearance of Jose "Joey" de Venecia III, Rodolfo Lozada Jr. and Madriaga (who claimed to have been a ZTE consultant) at the NBN probe, is mum about the identity of the new witness.
Even Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. is in the dark. "Your guess is as good as mine," he said.
Although he also refused to name names, Madriaga said the new witness was likely to provide more details on ZTE's alleged $41-million advance, including the $30 million purportedly paid as appearance fee for President Macapagal-Arroyo's presence at the NBN contract-signing in China.
But Sandra Cam--a witness at a Senate inquiry into the illegal numbers game "jueteng"--said the new witness was likely to come from the "Greedy Group."
Of the four tagged as group members, San Miguel and Dela Torre were said to be the most likely to talk. Abalos has already denied under oath any knowledge of brokering the NBN-ZTE deal, while Reyes has yet to return since he left for abroad late last year.
Lacson has reportedly sent for both Dela Torre (a fellow graduate of the Philippine Military Academy) and San Miguel (through former Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr.).
But only San Miguel received the subpoena. Dela Torre could not be located. (Only Abalos of the remaining witnesses received his subpoena, according to the OSAA.)
In a phone interview, Magsaysay said he tried to contact San Miguel after Lacson sought his help in locating the latter.
But San Miguel did not reply to his text messages and phone calls, he said.
Magsaysay said that as early as September 2007, when Joey de Venecia mentioned San Miguel as part of Abalos' cabal in the NBN wheeling and dealing, he had already told San Miguel "that the best way is to get a lawyer to help him make his own statement and anticipate if and when the Senate calls him."
Cable guy
While Madriaga had declared that San Miguel was close to Magsaysay, the former lawmaker downplayed their association.
"I have many friends; he has many friends. Our only common denominator is cable TV," Magsaysay said.
According to Magsaysay, San Miguel was the first chief operating officer of Home Cable, when the cable TV business was demonopolized with the closure of Sining Makulay in 1987.
When Home Cable merged with rival Sky Cable, San Miguel moved to Asia Cable Communications (Accion), a distributor of prime cable programs, where the Magsaysay family has a significant interest.
"Our relationship has been off and on since I left the industry in 1995 and ran for senator. I believe he has the expertise in broadband because cable TV is the real broadband," Magsaysay said, adding that he did not know whether San Miguel was in the country or abroad.
San Miguel has reportedly filed a two-month leave of absence from Accion.
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