Ex-trade chief explains absence from NBN-ZTE trial at Sandiganbayan

Former Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines – Former Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila has asked the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division not to cite him in contempt for failing to attend the last graft trial hearing of former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos in connection with the scuttled National Broadband Network deal, saying he was out of the country at that time.

Favila also said he would attend the next scheduled hearing on Abalos’ trial for graft in connection with the canceled NBN deal with China’s ZTE Corp.

Favila was among the witnesses who were a no-show in the April 23 hearing on the graft case, and the absences of the witnesses prompted the prosecution to ask the court to issue a show-cause order asking them to explain why they should not be held in contempt for failing to appear despite due notice.

Aside from Favila, those who were absent were lawyer Roberto Rafael Pulido, Ferdinand Gaite of the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees, and ZTE Corp. consultant Dante Madriaga.

Pulido and Gaite actually arrived at the Sandiganbayan on April 23, but they were a few minutes late and the court had adjourned by the time they arrived.

Gaite said he was held up by heavy traffic, while Pulido had explained to the court that he was late for a few minutes because of a confusion with his driver on where he was to be taken.

Pulido said that he had fallen asleep while on the way to the Sandiganbayan and when he woke up, he discovered that his driver had brought him to the Office of the Ombudsman. He directed his driver to bring him to the anti-graft court instead, but they also met with traffic along the way.

In his own explanation submitted to the court on Tuesday, Favila said he was informed that he was supposed to testify on April 23, but he told the prosecution that he would be in the United States from April 14 to May 7.

He said he was in the US when his office received the subpoena on April 20 directing him to appear on the April 23 hearing. The prosecution subsequently informed his representative that the next hearing of the case has been scheduled for June 18.

Favila said he had no intention of offending the court or delaying the proceedings in the case.

As for Madriaga, the prosecution said it could not locate him to serve the subpoena because he was no longer in his listed address.

Abalos is being tried for allegedly taking an interest in the $329 million NBN deal with China’s ZTE Corporation, which was unrelated to his duties as elections chief. This was his first NBN-related graft case.

In late 2011, he was slapped with another graft case in connection with the approval of the NBN-ZTE deal, which the Ombudsman ruled was disadvantageous to the government. The second case has yet to begin trial.