Government wants cases vs Arroyo merged

Special prosecutors of the Office of the Ombudsman are seeking the consolidation of the cases against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and those against former Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos and former Socio-economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri that had to do with the $329-million NBN-ZTE deal.

The prosecutors argued before the Sandiganbayan that all the cases involved the business transaction between the Philippine government and the Zhing Xing Telecommunications Equipment Inc. (ZTE) for the implementation of the National Broadband Network (NBN), and that a consolidation would expedite their resolution.

“The consolidation of these cases is in consonance with the rationale behind the consolidation of cases, which is to promote a more expeditious and less expensive resolution of the controversy than if they were heard independently by separate divisions of the Honorable Sandiganbayan,” they said in their motion to the Fifth Division.

The prosecutors said the graft case against Neri pending with the Fifth Division should be consolidated with the graft case against Abalos and the string of charges against Arroyo, and three others, all pending with the Fourth Division.

The motion was signed by Deputy Special Prosecutor John I.C. Turalba, Prosecution Bureau X acting director Omar Sagadal and Assistant  Special Prosecutors III Joefferson B. Toribio and Kristine Jennifer E. Carreon.

The Ombudsman last week filed one count of graft against Arroyo, her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, Abalos and former Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza, and another count of graft and violation of the code of conduct and ethical standards for public officials against Arroyo.

The charges were in connection with the approval of the deal that had been found to be overpriced and disadvantageous to the government, and that was later scuttled.