Arroyo coaccused Mendoza enters not guilty plea

Former DOTC chief Leandro Mendoza. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines- Former Transportation and Communication Secretary Leandro Mendoza, now wheelchair-bound, on Monday pleaded not guilty to the graft charge filed against him in connection with the aborted National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with China’s ZTE Corp.

Mendoza, who has difficulty speaking and walking as a consequence of a stroke, did not talk before the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division during his arraignment.

He indicated his “not guilty” plea by shaking his head when asked by the court if he was pleading guilty or not guilty. His lawyer Alexander Poblador also asked the justices to enter a not guilty plea for him.

Mendoza suffered a stroke in March while celebrating his birthday in a resort in Batangas.

Poblador told the antigraft court that Mendoza  was “slowly recovering” from his stroke.

When Fourth Division chair Justice Gregory Ong asked why Mendoza still appeared before the court given his condition, Poblador replied that his client was ready to be arraigned.

The charge against Mendoza was read in full as he sat in his wheelchair, and Poblador said his client understood the information.

Mendoza was  the last to be arraigned among the coaccused of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the NBN graft case.

Arroyo and the other coaccused—former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and former elections chief Benjamin Abalos—pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges last month.

They are accused of conspiring to ensure the approval of the government’s $329-million NBN deal with China’s ZTE Corp., which the Office of the Ombudsman ruled  was overpriced and disadvantageous to the government.