SAYS MIKEY ARROYO
JDV charges won’t stand up in court
By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr., Leila Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:18:00 11/25/2008
Filed Under: Impeachment, Politics, Congress, NBN deal
MANILA, Philippines—For all the charges hurled against his mother in the latest impeachment case, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo Monday argued that none would stick in court.
“What my father is denying is that he was trying to broker a deal [with Chinese firm ZTE Corp. for the national broadband network project], not the golf game [with executives of the company],” Mikey said, responding to a litany of charges ex-Speaker Jose de Venecia aired at the start of the formal inquiry into the substance the fourth impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
“Come to think of it, if you will really study everything that he [De Venecia] is saying, GMA [the President’s initials] and FG [the First Gentleman] did not violate any laws. Anything he says will not hold up in any court. There is nothing wrong with a golf game, with a meeting. No deal was consummated,” Mikey said.
“If you talk of propriety, how about the son of an incumbent Speaker getting into government transactions,” Mikey said in an interview with reporters after the hearing.
Mikey said that the claim by De Venecia that his son’s proposal for a build-operate-and-transfer scheme was better had already been debunked by the Department of Transportation and Communication in the Senate hearings on the NBN-ZTE deal.
“As far as I’m concerned, that has been explained time and again. It [the NBN deal] may be more expensive, it gives more technology to our people and it covers a larger landscape in our country,” he said.
Mikey described De Venecia as “a true master of politics done the traditional way.”
He said that he did not monitor De Venecia’s testimony and neither did his father who was recovering from a bout with diarrhea nor his mother who was in Peru.
Congressmen not for sale
Mikey said that De Venecia’s claim that “everybody is for sale” was “not a nice thing to say.”
“Before, when he was Speaker, majority of congressmen were his allies, he would defend them, show his appreciation toward them in so many ways. Now that they have voted to unseat him, he is saying everybody is for sale,” Mikey said.
“Congressmen are not for sale, if they believe in something, they will do it. If he (De Venecia) is able to impeach the President, he is vindicated. If nobody follows suit, if even his former allies will shut down his revelations, he should get the message.”
But Mikey said that he was not about to fight fire with fire with De Venecia because he was still hopeful that the two families would still reconcile.
“All I can do is to appeal to Manong [elder brother] Joe, if you want to promulgate the career of his son or pass on the torch to his son, I hope it’s not at the expense of my family. We can’t stop former Speaker De Venecia from lambasting my family. Since he was unseated his heart is still full of hatred. One day I’m sure he’ll snap out of it,” Mikey said.
“Every time Manang Gina [elder sister] and Manong Joe insult me, my brother, my father and my mother, I never say anything personal against them because one day, I still hope that we’ll be friends. They are my godparents. It’s hard to fight with the elderly, we have to respect them. I only answer the allegations, I don’t insult them.”
Mikey also apologized to Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) reporter Nancy Carvajal for his actions when his father was being interviewed during his exit from confinement at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City.
“If she was offended, I apologize, I hope they understand that I have to be protective of my father who just came out of the hospital. Media is very powerful so they can say anything about us, we just have to take it,” he said.
Impeachment will not prosper
Saying it’s a numbers game, deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said the latest ouster attempt would not prosper.
“There is no new issue or case that has been raised,” said Fajardo, who is with Ms Arroyo in Peru. “Let’s leave the matter to the congressmen, who are wise. They should know better.”
“There are no more new issues that can reopen the ZTE [probe] because the investigations in the Senate and House are already with the Ombudsman,” Fajardo told the Inquirer.
The chair of the House justice committee, Quezon City Rep. Matias Defensor, claimed he was present when De Venecia met with Ms Arroyo in Malacañang on Oct. 11, 2007.
Defensor told reporters he did not remember Ms Arroyo asking De Venecia to bring the complaint to the House members so that it could get moving.
“I see no reason why somebody has to ask him to follow the Constitution,” he said, adding that he did not hear De Venecia tell the President that the complaint filed by lawyer Roel Pulido was a “sham.”
House Majority Leader Arthur Defensor, who also told reporters he was present in the Malacañang meeting, said he could not remember if the President directed De Venecia to endorse the Pulido complaint.
De Venecia committed a crime
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said De Venecia could be liable for violating corruption laws with his revelation that he accepted and kept money coming from Malacañang.
“That is a confession that he committed a crime,” Enrile told reporters.
“If he admitted that he was bribed, then he should be charged,” Enrile said.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said De Venecia should testify in the Senate, saying he had given meaty details about the NBN-ZTE controversy. The Senate still has to complete its investigation into the aborted deal.
The Office of the Ombudsman said it would prefer to have De Venecia’s allegations in a legal document that could be scrutinized properly.
“We cannot rely on newspaper stories and the book itself. What we would prefer is a document duly sworn and subscribed,” Assistant Ombudsman Jose De Jesus said.
The Ombudsman is investigating seven complaints on the NBN-ZTE deal.
Former President Joseph Estrada expressed support of De Venecia.
“At last, he has finally found the courage to expose the true dealings and nature of this incumbent administration. I hope this will be the beginning of the moral revolution that he has spoken about,” Estrada said.
Earlier, about 20 leftist protesters picketed the main gate of the House to support the impeachment process and denounce attempts to revive moves for term extension through Charter change. With reports from Michael Lim Ubac, Christian V. Esguerra, Christine O. Avendano, Alcuin Papa, Julie M. Aurelio, Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon
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