Columns Senator Pimentel GMA’s Defense of Herself In Broadband Mess Is Weak – Senator Pimentel
| GMA’s Defense of Herself In Broadband Mess Is Weak – Senator Pimentel |
Senator Pimentel said the President, by her own revelation, was told by a person she did not identify about the serious flaws in the $329 million national broadband network contract granted to China’s ZTE Corp. on the eve of her trip to Boao, China, to witness the signing of the ZTE-NBN deal and other bilateral agreements in April 2007.
And yet, Mr. Pimentel said Mrs. Arroyo did not lift a finger to stop or suspend the questionable contract at that time. He said the President, by her act of omission, seemed unmindful of the harm that will be inflicted on the government by such a grossly anomalous deal.
“What GMA did or did not do after she learned that something was wrong with the ZTE-NBN deal on the eve of its signing is the smoking gun that links her to the scandal,” he said.
“That’s also what Secretary Romulo Neri doesn’t want to supply.”
Senator Pimentel said the President’s revelation clearly belies the claim of Mr. Neri, the chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, that he had nothing more to say about the ZTE-NBN scandal as his justification for repeatedly ignoring the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s summons for him to return to the witness stand.
He said the President’s mishandling of the national broadband project was first unraveled when Neri, as then director-general of the National Economic and Development Authority, reported to her the alleged attempt of then Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos to bribe him with P200-million in exchange for the endorsement of the ZTE-NBN project by the NEDA-Investment Coordinating Committee. Testimonies obtained during the Senate hearings indicated that President did not act to have the alleged bribery try investigated.
Senator Pimentel said the President has yet to explain why she deviated from her position to have the NBN project done through the build-operate and transfer scheme that will entail no expense on the part of the government. Instead, the President approved the proposal to finance the project from loans that the Philippine government will secure from China’s Export-Import Bank. # # #
Here are some quotes from Thomas Jefferson, whose views of democracy and freedom still ring true today:
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. "
"Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day."
"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."
Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence.
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."
What we went wrong with people power is that we did not make everyone accountable ... if we want real people power ... make everyone involved in oppression,tyranny and corruption accountable. Enough of this "balimbing"; anyone, I mean anyone, from janitors, drivers and congressman to senators, must be judged accordingly. And if found guilty, they should not be able to hold public offices again.
We should make everyone know that the law applies to everyone, and when it comes to accountability.
Stop the cycle of oppression and corruption, apply the rule of law accordingly.
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