Plunder, graft charges filed vs Arroyos, et al over NBN deal

MANILA, Philippines — Bayan Muna partylist Representative Teddy Casiño, and Liza Maza and Maria Carolina Pagaduan-Araullo on Thursday morning filed plunder and graft charges at the Office of the Ombudsman against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo over the scuttled $329-million NBN-ZTE deal.

Charged along with her were her husband, former Jose Miguel Arroyo, former Commission on Election Chairman Benjamin Abalos and former Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales personally received the complaint.

Casiño, Maza and Araullo alleged that the former president, now a member of the House of Representatives, amassed, accumulated and acquired ill-gotten wealth of at least $35 million or P1.4 billion in kickbacks from the scuttled broadband deal.

The former first gentleman conspired with her “in committing the unlawful acts’’ and that the Arroyo couple accepted bribe money from the Chinese company, ZTE, they alleged.

Abalos also conspired with the former president in committing plunder, and in fact, strongly lobbied for the ZTE proposal, and also received kickbacks from ZTE.

Mendoza, for his part, signed the contract on behalf of the then President, and conspired with her in forging a “grossly disadvantageous contract,’’ they said.

The complainants used as evidence testimonies at the Senate blue ribbon committee inquiry into the deal, particularly that of Dante Madriaga, a consultant for the ZTE proposal.