· Rep. Jose de Venecia, Jr. – A staunch Arroyo ally for many years, he fell from the good graces of Malacañang after failing to stop his son, businessman Jose III or “Joey”, from testifying at the Senate hearing on the government’s rigged and overpriced National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with China’s ZTE Corporation. Administration congressmen subsequently moved to oust him from the House Speakership, a post he had held for four times. Because of this, he has decided to turn his back on the Arroyo administration. He later testified before the House Committee on Justice in support of the 2008 impeachment complaint against Arroyo – linking her to the NBN deal.
· Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada – A telecommunications engineer who was a technical consultant on the NBN deal, he was the one who spilled the most beans on the project. He not only confirmed that the NBN contract was overpriced by $130 billion: he also confirmed former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos’ involvement as a supposed broker in the deal, as well as his bribe attempt on former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General Romulo Neri. He went a step further and disclosed that Abalos was frequently calling up presidential spouse Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo in the course of the bidding and deliberations on the NBN project.
· Jose de Venecia III – He is one of the losing bidders in the NBN deal. During the Senate inquiry on the rigged and overpriced contract, he revealed that Abalos had offered him a P10-million bribe in exchange for backing out of the deal.
· Benjamin Abalos – The former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman is said to have brokered the NBN deal, making several trips to China to talk with ZTE officials. Abalos was also revealed to have frequently called presidential spouse Mike Arroyo in the course of the bidding and deliberations on the deal. He allegedly went as far as attempting to bribe former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General Romulo Neri with P20 million to approve the project. Neri’s revelation of this bribe attempt caused public outrage which forced Abalos to resign from the Comelec.
(Bulatlat.com)
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