Sparks fly at Ombudsman ZTE probe
By Jocelyn Uy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:40:00 03/26/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- None of the key personalities implicated in the controversial NBN-ZTE deal showed up at the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday.
Still, the anti-graft body’s third public hearing on the issue had enough theatrics to keep observers glued to the end.
Lawyer-complainant Harry Roque vowed not to appear at the hearings again and to take the fight to the Supreme Court instead after the panel turned down his motion to summon President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo over allegations of corrupt practices in the deal.
Heated exchange
Meanwhile, the lawyer of former Commission on Elections Chair Benjamin Abalos Sr. accused the Ombudsman panel of giving Roque the “royal treatment.”
And the panel’s chair, Emilio Gonzalez III, the Assistant Ombudsman for the military, had a heated verbal exchange with another lawyer-complainant, Ernesto Francisco Jr., who called Gonzalez a liar.
“Never call me a liar especially in the newspapers. What is it that you really want? You call these proceedings a moro-moro [just for show] ... You are trying to destroy our reputation,” a fuming Gonzalez told Francisco.
The argument between Gonzalez and Francisco was sparked by an urgent omnibus motion that Francisco filed two weeks ago accusing the Ombudsman’s panel of lying and making misrepresentations in its investigation of the NBN-ZTE deal.
Francisco asked that the panel be disbanded for allegedly misleading the parties in the case when it requested for the Senate records on the NBN-ZTE investigation.
Francisco said he had made inquiries at the Senate and was told that no such request was made.
“I advise you to please temper your language. Never call me a liar again. I never lie,” said Gonzalez, pointing a finger at Francisco.
Gonzalez also bewailed Francisco’s filing of too many motions.
“You’ve been giving us the runaround. Just what is it you want? What kind of panel do you want? Maybe you’re looking for a panel that will take your side. We are all apolitical here,” Gonzalez said.
Failure to secure records
Francisco said he has always been respectful of the panel and that his motions and statements were made out of “indignation and frustration” about the panel’s repeated failure to secure the Senate records.
But Gonzalez cut him off, asking instead if Francisco had already replied to the counteraffidavits of Abalos and the President’s husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo.
Francisco tried to explain why he was not able to submit his reply but Gonzalez cut him off again.
“Did you file your reply already? Answer me,” he said. To which Francisco replied: “How can I answer you when you are not letting me?”
Agitated by the exchange, the other panel members of the panel through Deputy Special Prosecutor Robert Kallos called for a recess.
When the hearing resumed, Kallos briefly took over the questioning of Francisco, who said that he would file a consolidated reply once the panel has secured all the Senate records.
Francisco later told reporters that he believed the failure to obtain the documents from the Senate would pave the way for the dismissal of the cases in the Office of the Ombudsman.
Still, the panel accommodated him and issued an order requesting the Senate to forward all documents and stenographic notes related to the controversial deal to the anti-graft body.
Francisco withdrew his motion to disband the panel and apologized to Gonzalez for “hurting his feelings.” The chair accepted his apology.
Earlier in the proceedings, Roque informed the panel that he would no longer be attending the succeeding hearings after his motion to subpoena Ms Arroyo was junked.
The panel also dismissed Roque’s motion for dzRH radio commentator Joe Taruc to be summoned. Ms Arroyo supposedly admitted in an interview with Taruc last month that she was aware of the allegations of corruption in the NBN-ZTE deal but went ahead with the contract signing.
Roque asked the panel to excuse him, saying that instead of appearing in the next hearings, he would just challenge its decision before the Supreme Court.
‘Royal treatment’
This annoyed Gabriel Villareal, Abalos’ lawyer who complained that Roque was being given the “royal treatment.”
“He is asking to be excused just because his motion was denied. Why didn’t I get the same treatment when the panel junked several of my pleadings,” he said.
Kallos denied giving Roque special treatment and explained to Villareal that his case had already been called and if he wanted to leave he could do so. Villareal immediately apologized.
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