Militants say there’s basis to charge Arroyo with plunder

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Militants on Monday said former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo could be charged with plunder based on the testimony of former ZTE consultant Dante Madriaga that the now Pampanga lawmaker herself confirmed to him the delivery of $30 million following the signing of the National Broadband Network deal with China.

This was after Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teddy Casiño, Gabriela’s Liza Maza and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan’s Carol Araullo, who filed a partial motion for reconsideration on Monday asking the Office of the Ombudsman to charge Arroyo with plunder and additional counts of graft.

Arroyo was charged with two counts of graft and one count of violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials for allegedly approving the NBN deal with China’s ZTE Corp. despite knowing the transaction was shot with irregularities.

Also charged with one count of graft were former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, former elections chief Benjamin Abalos and former Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza.

The NBN-ZTE deal was eventually canceled by Arroyo amid allegations of bribery and overpricing.

In their motion, the militants were also seeking the inclusion of Jose Miguel Arroyo, Abalos and Mendoza in the plunder case.

Casiño, Maza and Araullo were the complainants in the earlier charges against Arroyo, Abalos and Mendoza that the Ombudsman filed before the Sandiganbayan.

But the Ombudsman had dismissed their plunder complaint on the ground that the witnesses’ testimonies in the Senate inquiries had failed to prove that money had changed hands.

In their motion, the complainants insisted that there were sufficient grounds to file a nonbailable plunder case against the Arroyos, Abalos and Mendoza.

“The testimony of Dante Madriaga alone clearly establishes the fact that money indeed changed hands during the signing of the NBN-ZTE contract,” they said.

According to them, Madriaga’s testimony showed he had personal knowledge that the former President received kickbacks during the signing of the contract, since Arroyo confirmed to him the delivery of $30 million.

They also called attention to Madriaga’s testimony that Arroyo went to China to witness the signing of the contract because the Chinese would not shell out any more funds unless the President appeared at the event, and his testimony that the $30 million was allocated for campaign expenses in the 2007 senatorial and local elections.

The complainants also said that the $30 million was different from the $41 million received by the “Filipino group” as advances before the contract was signed. According to Madriaga’s testimony, it was businessman Leo San Miguel who informed Madriaga of the alleged advances.