Senate panel turns over P1.4M to nat’l treasury

Photo from Gordon’s office

A panel in the Senate has turned over some P1.4 million cash to the National Treasury for “safekeeping.”

A photo emailed to reporters on Thursday by the office of Senator Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate committee on accountability of public officers and investigations also known as the blue ribbon committee, showed him turning over the money to National Treasurer Roberto Tan.

The turnover was held Wednesday.

The money was transmitted to the committee during its past investigations on the the scuttled $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with China’s ZTE Corp. and the so-called “Hello Garci” scandal.

READ: What Went Before: The NBN-ZTE deal

“Of the amount, P500,000 was surrendered by Jun Lozada during the investigation on the NBN-ZTE deal while the remaining P900,000 came from Col. Pedro Sumayo during the ‘Hello, Garci’ inquiry in the 14th and 15th Congress, respectively,” the caption reads.

READ: What Went Before: Saga of the ‘Hello Garci’ tapes

Lozada was the whistleblower in the NBN controversy while Sumayo was a witness in the “Hello Garci” scandal, pertaining to an alleged audio recording where then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was allegedly caught ordering an election official to ensure her victory in the 2004 elections. RAM