by Dennis Gadil and JP Lopez
The government acted with undue haste in awarding the $329 million national broadband contract to ZTE Corp. by signing a supply agreement with a Chinese company without first entering into an executive agreement with the Chinese government.
This was the observation of senators yesterday after members of the Cabinet appeared before a Senate inquiry to justify the alleged overpriced project.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said since there was no executive agreement yet, the contract for the national broadband project should have been subjected to public bidding.
“If this is only a contract, so there’s a need for bidding,” Lacson said.
Transport secretary Leandro Mendoza said the supply contract was part of the process of reaching an executive agreement which would be consummated with the signing of a loan agreement with the Chinese Eximbank.
Projects covered by executive agreements are excluded from the bidding requirement provided in RA 9184, the government procurement law.
“There’s no loan agreement, no executive agreement. What we have here is a contract,” Lacson said.
He said: “The government is neither here nor there in this stinking NBN project. If it was an executive agreement that Mendoza said he signed, it would be in violation of the Constitution, which says that such agreement would require a loan agreement approved by the Monetary Board. If it was a supply contract as clearly shown by the document itself, they would have violated R.A. 9184 or the Government Procurement Act because it did not conduct public bidding.”
Sen. Francis Escudero said the government should have forged first an executive agreement with China before signing the supply agreement with ZTE Corp.
“You’re already giving ZTE the power to supply you without the executive agreement. Exempted lang po ang supply contract kung may executive agreement,” Escudero said.
He added: “Hindi pwede mauna ang award (sa ZTE) bago dumating ang executive agreement.”
Mendoza and Justice undersecretary Ricardo Paras said what was signed in Boao, China, was only a supply contract.
The public officials stressed that the ZTE contract was a “conditional contract” that could not be enforced without a loan agreement.
Budget secretary Rolando Andaya also emphasized that the project was not yet consummated.
“Marami pang dadaanan ito. Yung loan agreement hindi pa nasisimulan nila (Finance) Secretary (Margarito) Teves,” Andaya said.
Lacson also said election laws might have been circumvented because the contract with ZTE was executed within the 45-day period covering the election ban on signing of government contracts.
Mendoza testified that he signed the contract in China on April 21, 2007, or less than three weeks before the May elections.
Lacson said the only person who could have provided exemption from the ban was Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos Sr., the alleged broker of the ZTE-NBN contract.
Andaya said there was no need for an exemption because the “contract has not been perfected yet and, therefore, not enforceable.”
Lacson also said the government failed to conduct a due diligence study on ZTE as a supply provider.
He said had a thorough study been conducted, the government should have found out that ZTE has been involved in a bribery scandal in Liberia and is now blacklisted in Ecuador and Ethiopia for overpricing and in Indonesia for dumping.
Mendoza said they had not come across such allegations and stressed that ZTE is word-class company that is listed in the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges.
He also denied arranging a “reconciliation” meeting between Abalos and Jose “Joey” de Venecia III.
“I did not organize any reconciliation meeting,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza, however, admitted meeting “one day in March” the young De Venecia, Abalos and First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo in Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City.
He said it was a chance encounter.
He said he was a frequent visitor to the club as president of the Philippine Federation of Golf Associations.
Mendoza also denied a confrontation took place between the young De Venecia and Arroyo.
He said he did not seek the help of Speaker Jose de Venecia for his son’s congressional bid in Batangas when he bumped into the young De Venecia at his father’s house in Dasmariñas Village, Makati City.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Blue Ribbon chair, said the procurement law, which mandates compulsory public bidding for government projects, does not distinguish whether it is a “conditional or a perfected contract.”
“A conditional contract is a conditional contract,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano also said that on Page 3 of the ZTE supply contract, both parties stipulated that “an executive agreement was entered into by the Philippines and China government.”
He said the Philippine panel practically lied before ZTE officials for claiming that an executive agreement contract was already in force between their two countries.
“There’s fraud in this contract. You made representation with the ZTE that meron ng executive agreement,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano also cited Page 32 of the ZTE contract, which again stated that an executive agreement has been ratified by China and the Philippines.
“China may say yes (we’ve ratified it), but according to the DOTC secretary (Mendoza), wala (pang) na-ratify,” he said.
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel also questioned DOTC assistant secretary Lorenzo Formoso for announcing on June 20 during a forum in Ateneo that the contract was lost when it was already reconstituted as early as May 24, 2007.
Formoso explained he volunteered the information to pre-empt possible bad press about the “loss.”
“We don’t want the news to come from somebody else,” he said.
He said they kept quiet about the incident as the National Bureau of Investigation was conducting an investigation on the “theft.”
“We waited for the NBI investigation to be finished,” Formoso said.
Mendoza said the ZTE contract and the other contract documents signed with China were stolen inside the hotel room of a member of the Philippine delegation.
Mendoza said only the documents were stolen. No valuables were lost.
Mendoza’s statement drew laughter from the gallery where former DOTC undersecretary Josie Lichauco and her group were seated.
Sen. Rodolfo Biazon said it was strange that the thieves were only after the documents and ignored the valuables.
While Cayetano was questioning Mendoza, a woman interrupted the proceedings by shouting “Tulungan ninyo po ako! Tulungan ninyo po ako!” as she was escorted outside by Senate security personnel.
De Venecia turned and remarked: “Si Neri ba yun?”
Former NEDA director general Romulo Neri begged off from the hearing, citing “intestinal flu.”
The woman turned out to be an activist from the group of protesters who earlier staged a rally outside the Senate premises demanding the rescinding of the NBN contract.
Sen. Mar Roxas chided Formoso and Mendoza for insisting that government will save P4 billion from the ZTE deal.
“So do not say that this P4.6 billion will actually be all totally saved because a huge portion of this is really government communicating with the citizens. You’re using these numbers, these statistics not to help clarify but to further confuse,” an irked Roxas said.
Roxas said the claimed savings were fictitious and, in fact, government would incur a yearly expense of P1 billion to maintain the NBN project.
Sen. Benigno Aquino III said the proposals submitted by the three project proponents, ZTE, Arescom and Amsterdam Holdings, differed significantly.
“Walang malinaw na specifications kung ano ang gusto ninyo mangyari sa project na ito,” Aquino said, noting that AHI submitted an unsolicited proposal under the build-operate-and transfer (BOT) program, while ZTE and Arescom offered different proposals.
Senate President Manuel Villar asked Malacañang for a list of all the people involved from Day One in packaging the ZTE-NBN project.
DOTC officials maintained the contract was aboveboard as they cited a DOTC study that the cost of the NBN would almost double to $562 million if Amsterdam Holdings were the one to do it on a nationwide basis.
A power point presentation by Formoso showed that if the NBN project’s coverage were to go nationwide, AHI’s proposal would reach $562 million. Another proposal, that of the US firm Arescom, would cost an even higher $1 billion.
Formoso said AHI and Arescom have no “firm financing” commitments, which means they will have to tap commercial banks for loans carrying a yearly interest of 6 percent.
He said under the ZTE proposal, the project would be financed by the China Export-Import Bank under a loan carrying a 3 percent interest payable over 20 years.
“Arescom will also involve a government to government loan, and at even higher rates with very limited coverage,” Formoso said.
“AHI, on the other hand, claims that it is offering a project at no cost to the government. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. If the AHI offer had been accepted by the DOTC, it would be using its government contract to enter into the telecommunications market, which is unfair to the other budding players in the field,” he said.
“In a nutshell, ZTE offered the best package at the least cost,” Formoso said.
Formoso said that while Joey de Venecia claimed that AHI’s cost for the project would only reach $240 million as against ZTE’s $329 million, it would have a “limited geographic coverage” because it would be limited mostly to urban areas, and would only cover 87 base stations and 500 cell sites.
The government will also have to buy cell phones from AHI and other vendors.
In contrast, he said, ZTE’s proposal entails nationwide coverage, reaching down to the 6th class or poorest municipalities, because it would have 300 base stations and another 300 backbone stations all over the country.
Formoso said that Arescom’s offer, which is the most expensive, would have a “very limited coverage” because it would cover only 21 base stations.
Cabinet secretaries were in full force.
They included Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Finance secretary Margarito Teves, presidential legal counsel Sergio Apostol, acting Justice secretary Agnes Devanadera, Budget secretary Rolando Andaya, Environment secretary Joselito Atienza and Science secretary Estrella Alabastro.
Ermita has said President Arroyo gave her consent for the officials to attend the hearing to show that her administration has nothing to hide about the contract. –With Regina Bengco
In reality, the Arroyo government cannot scrap the $329 M ZTE-NBN misdeal due to advance payment made by ZTE to Jose Pidal Arroyo and Abalos. DOTC chief Mendoza had fooled the Chinese ZTE officials and the Filipino people in the broadband scam. What do we expect from former kotong-pulis patola? The President’s men cannot save Gloria and Miguel in this latest payola scandal. Magdusa sila!
Of all the scandals and anomalies that rocked this GMA government, this ZTE is one that they cannot escape. As days go by, lalong tumatagal lalong lumalala ang kaso. It would turn out to be GMA’s final downfall. Ang tagal naman. Sabik na sabik na ang mga taong bayan.
If this is really an executive agreement, then it should have complied with Executive Order 459, quoted below, unless GMA issued a superseding EO.
MALACAÑANG
MANILA
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 459
PROVIDING FOR THE GUIDELINES IN THE NEGOTIATION OF INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND ITS RATIFICATION
WHEREAS, The negotiations of International agreements are made in pursuance of the foreign policy of the country.
WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 292, otherwise known as the Administrative Code of 1987, provides that the Department of Foreign Affairs shall be the lead agency that shall advised and assist the President in planning, organizing, directing, coordinating and evaluating the total national effort in the field of foreign relations.
WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 292 further provides that the Department of Foreign Affairs shall negotiate treaties and other agreements pursuant tom the instructions of the President , and in coordination with other government agencies;
WHEREAS, there is a need to establish guidelines to govern the negotiation and ratification of international agreements by the different agencies of the government.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order:
SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy. – It is hereby declared the policy of the State that the negotiations of all treaties and executive agreements, or any amendment thereto, shall be coordinated with, and made only with the participation of, the Department of Foreign Affairs in accordance with Executive Order No. 292. It is also declared the policy of the State that the composition of any Philippine negotiation panel and the designation of the chairman thereof shall be made in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs.
SECTION 2. Definition of Terms.
1. International agreement shall refer to a contract or understanding, regardless of nomenclature, entered into between the Philippines and another government in written form and governed by international law, whether embodied in single instruments.
2. Treaties – international agreements entered into by the Philippines which require legislative concurrence after executive ratification. This term may include compacts like conventions, declarations, covenants and acts.
3. Executive Agreement – similar to treaties except that they do not require legislative concurrence.
4. Full Powers – authority granted by a Head of State or Government to a delegation head enabling the letter to bind his country to the commitments made in the negotiations to be pursued.
5. National Interest – advantage or enhanced prestige or benefit to the country as defined by its political and/or administrative leadership.
6. Provisional Effect – recognition by one or both sides of the negotiation process that an agreement be considered in force pending compliance with domestic requirements for the affectivity of the agreement.
SECTION 3. Authority to Negotiate. – Prior to any international meeting or negotiation of treaty or executive agreement, authorization must be secured by the lead agency from the President through the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The request for authorization shall be in writing, proposing the composition of the Philippine delegation and recommending the range of positions to be taken by that delegation. In case of negotiations of agreements, changes of national policy or those involving international arrangements of permanent character entered in to the name of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, the authorization shall be in the form of Full Powers and formal instructions. In case of other agreements, a written authorization from the President shall be sufficient.
SECTION 4. Full powers – The issuance of Full Powers shall be made by the President of the Philippines who may delegate this function to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.
The following persons, however, shall not require Full Powers prior to negotiating or signing a treaty or an executive agreement, or any amendment thereto, by virtue of the nature of their functions:
1. Secretary of Foreign Affairs,
2. Heads of Philippine diplomat missions, for the purpose of adopting the next of a treaty or an agreement between the Philippines and the State to which they are accredited;
3. Representative accredited by the Philippines to an international conference or to an international organization or one of its organs, for the purpose of adopting the text of a treaty in that conference, organization or organ.
SECTION 5. Negotiations.
1. In cases involving negotiations of agreements, the composition of the Philippine panel or delegation shall be determined by the President upon the recommendation of the secretary of Foreign Affairs and the lead agency if it is not the Department of Foreign Affairs.
2. No treaty or executive agreement, or any amendment thereto, shall convene a meeting of the panel members prior to the commencement of any negotiations for the purpose of establishing the parameters of the negotiating position of the panel. No deviation from the agreed parameters shall be made without prior consultations with the member of the negotiating panel.
SECTION 6. Entry into Force and Provisional Application of Treaties and Executive Agreements.
1. A treaty or an executive agreement enters into force upon compliance with the domestic requirement stated in this Order.
2. No treaty or executive agreement shall be given provisional effect unless it is shown that a pressing national interest will upheld thereby. The Department of Foreign Affairs, in consultation with the concerned agencies, shall determine whether a treaty or an executive agreement, or any amendment thereto, shall be given provisional effect.
SECTION 7. Domestic Requirements for the Entry into Force of a Treaty or an Executive Agreement. – The domestic requirements for the entry into force of a treaty or an executive agreement, or any amendment thereto, shall be as follows:
1. Executive Agreements.
1. All executive agreements shall be transmitted to the Department of foreign Affairs after their signing for the preparation of the ratification papers. The transmittal shall include the highlights of the agreements and the benefits which will accue to the Philippines arising from them.
2. The Department of Foreign Affairs, pursuant to the endorsement by the concerned agency, shall transmit the agreements to the President of the Philippines for his ratification. The original signed instrument of ratification shall them be returned to the Department of Foreign Affairs for appropriate action.
2. Treaties.
1. All treaties regardless of their designation, shall comply with the requirements provided in sub-paragraph 1 and 2, item A (Executive Agreements) of this Section. In addition, the Department of Foreign Affairs shall submit the treaties to the Senate of the Philippines for concurrence in the ratification by the President. A certified true copy of the treaties, in such numbers as may be require
In short, DOTC Sec Mendoza didn’t fully understand what he signed. Well, sabi nga ni Cocoy, what can we expect from a former pulis patola!
Hay naku! andito na naman ang gobyernong ito ni GMA na panay ang pag magic kung paano palusutin ang kurakutan at partehan. Kahit na ano ang itawag diyan (executive agreement, contract, etc.) ganun din ang labas – it’s a govt project doomed by corrupt dealings and is another white elephant in the make. Mendoza’s claim that NBN is beneficial, exempt from public bidding, etc. is a cheap justification for another bigtime corruption. Baka nga naman makalusot.
I find it strange these days, when govts are supposed to shy away from colossal projects like these and give them to the private sector for better management, that the GMA regime wants to dip its dirty hands in the ZTE. (Panay kalokohan, garapalan na ang corruption!)
… ZTE NBN deal. Sori, lapse of writing.
chi, yun na nga eh. kaya nagkakaloko-loko ang gawain nila ay panay bobo at walang alam ang nilalagay ni Gloria sa mga positions na tulad niya. Eh ano naman ang alam ng mga utak-pulburang generals na yan kundi magbubunganga na walang basihan. Isang dikta lang ng isang technical assistant, paniwala na agad, kasi hindi naman alam talaga. Magaling lang silang lahat sa kurakutan, yan ang tutoo.
atty36252,
No need to issue a superseding EO, Gloria is above the law! She rules!
It never came to her pint-sized mind that one day she’d be caught with both her hands in the cookie jar! Bobo de la yuca!
Diego, sana magdilang anghel ka.
Isa na naman kapalpakan itong NBN deal na ito, na halata naman ang karumal-dumal na kurakutan. Yan ang problema, pag pinilit ni Gloria na ituloy ang project dahil nag “bigayan” na ng “advance” ang mga intsik (ZTE) eh baka nga naman magkakabulilyasuhan na. Sana ang SC ay magkaroon naman ng sariling panindigan ngayon, at hindi tulad ng dati na nagbibingi-bingihan at patumpik-tumpik sa desisyon.
Section 21 of Article VII of the Constitution provides as follows:
Section 21. No treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by at least two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.
Construing this provision, the Supreme Court in Bayan v Zamora held that:
“Section 21, Article VII deals with treaties or international agreements in general, in which case, the concurrence of at least two-thirds (2/3) of all the Members of the Senate is required to make the subject treaty, or international agreement, valid and binding on the part of the Philippines. This provision lays down the general rule on treaties or international agreements and applies to any form of treaty with a wide variety of subject matter, such as, but not limited to, extradition or tax treaties or those economic in nature. All treaties or international agreements entered into by the Philippines, regardless of subject matter, coverage, or particular designation or appellation, requires the concurrence of the Senate to be valid and effective.”
So, kung yan ang lusot ni Glo, kailangang mag-sumamo siya sa Senado para ma-ratify ang “executive agreement.”
HW,
Mendoza was saying that NBN is the best for the country’s communication goals, gago rin ano?
Sa isang bansa na ang gutom ay almost 16M na, how can these poor stomachs survive with a broadband program? Sa totoo lang ay baka walang naiintindihan sa technology itong si Mendoza. Huwag na ‘yun, iyon na lang patakbo ng kanyang opisina.
Ang expertise, buhat kay Gloria hanggang sa kanyang miembro ng aparador, ay magbulsa ng pera lalo ngayon na naghahabol silang lahat sa 3 taon na itatagal pa ng bruha. Ang tagal ng 3 taon, hindi na ‘yan tatagal dahil sa init ng kurakutan!
The ZTE-NBN scam is like a quicksand. Gloria is in panic mode. What the heck sending the whole Cabinet to defend Jose Pidal? How Gloria Arroyo can rescue her plundering husband Miguel and loyal dog ZTE broker Abalos from sinking? It appears that the President’s men alibi-’palusots’ in the Senate inquiry makes the situation worse. Miguel and Benjamin are struck deeper into the quicksand. Malapit na ang judgment day. Puede ba nilang ibalik ang paunang bayad?
Last hurrah na ni Abalost, kaya mabilisan at nag-bang na nga ng mesa sa paghingi ng advance sa ZTE. Kung nakuha na ang advance at hindi tuloy ang broadband project, mag gagawa naman sila ng ibang project na may parehong overpricing para pagtakpan ito. There will be substitution to appease ZTE. Their heads are now like toilet bowl, full of shit.
atty36252,
Huli na yata na magsumamo si Gloria sa Senado, umabot na sa sukdulan ang kabahuan ng ZTE that even the Juans, Petras, and Islaws in the barrios are already aware of this kurakutan blues.
As a lawyer, do you think the Senate will even give a thought of ratifying an executive agreement for ZTE after all that transpired?
atty36252,
Paano ma-ratify ang isang bulok at ganid na “executive agreement”? Hindi puedeng makalusot sa Senado gaya ng Japanese-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). Hindi ma-ratify dahil maraming butas.
Ang delikado ay ang mga Chinese businessman na nag-advance.
Pag walang nagyari sa pera, baka dedu-in sila ng mga Communist generals.
So kung yan ang imbitahin, tiyak na kakanta.
Ooppps,’yan ang pinakadilekado. That explains why Gloria is in a panic mode, baka magsing-along ang mga biktima ni Mike at Gloria.
Gloria’s mistake is sige lang sige basta pera na maibubulsa, didn’t study the culture of Chinese business. E kung covert members ng Triad ang kanyang sinuba, talagang patay pati s’ya!
Pakendeng-kendeng ka sa Tsina dahil nandyan ang pera ngayon, magdusa ka, impakta!
atty36252;
Iyan ang sinasabi ko na ang batas ng mga TRIAD ay street justice.Susmalyosep atorni,papuputiin ng mga Singkit sina Abalos at Mendoza,kuskos,laba,kula at plantsa.Ano na lang ang sasabihin ng mga Tsinitas na binuldyak ni Bin.Ha Atorni!
DKG:
Even the Japanese are against the JPEPA. Isa iyan sa nagpabagsak kay Abe as a matter of fact. Dapat lang magprotesta ang mga pilipino diyan. We are listening over here as a matter of fact. Mas mahalaga ang opinion ng majority sa mga pilipino.
cocoy,
Taranta na sila ngayon, mga hudas sa bayan kasi. Sige mga Triad, tirahin ninyo lahat ang mga ‘yan!
Kaya nagtatago si Neri…heheheh! Nasa kamay ni Neri ang pinakamalaking susi sa ZTE. I bet, it will take a miracle for Neri to deliver to the pipol the truth about ZTE. Well-rehearsed na kaya si Neri for the next hearing?!
I’m glad that Senator Pimentel has led the protest against this pact. Siya kasi ang unang nilapitan ko when I first heard of the toxic wastes being included in this pact.
Tiba sana ako doon, pero ayokong surutin ng budhi ko. I turned down the offer of the equivalent of 5 houses daw to help negotiate for the transport of toxic wastes to Davao. Sabi ko, “No need. I can earn my keep the honest way!”
Masarap abangan ang gagawin ng mga intsik if the ZTE deal is treated like that of the German company that lost millions of dollars for that controversial NAIA terminal. Kaya nga takot ang mga matatalinong investors na mag-invest sa Pilipinas sa totoo lang.
Tignan natin ang pagkatuso ng mga intsik sa business. Tignan natin kung mas tuso si Fatso Matsing! What’s that old adage in Tagalog? Ah yes, “Tuso man daw ang matsing ay napaglalamangan din.”
Taragis nga itong si Lapus, Chi, kasi hindi daw dapat i-sacrifice iyong broadband sa NBN deal na ito kasi kailangan daw ng mga mag-aaral. Mali yata ang programa niya. Dapat pag-aralan niya ang isinusulong for instance ni Hugo Chavez para sa mga “hopes of the motherland” ng bansa niya na free and compulsory education na ginaya din niya I think sa free and compulsory education ng Japan.
Taragis sa Negros nga kundi pa magpapaalipin iyong mga magulang ng mga bata doon, hindi sila makakatungtong ng elementary school at hindi nakakatapos kasi pinipilit din silang tumulong sa pagtatanim or they are not given support for their schooling para lang matotong bumasa at magsulat. Kaya karamihan sa kanila walang ambisyon hanggang sa pumasok ang mga NPA na nagtuturo sa kanilang ipaglaban ang kanilang mga karapatan. Labas tuloy parang torn between two lovers.
Tanong, may parte din kaya si Jesli Lapus sa broadband deal na iyan? Tanong lang naman that needs an answer as a matter of fact.
Di ba kilala mo si Jesli Lapus, Yuko?
Anyway, kahit anong tino ng tao kapag nakabit sa mag-asawang korap ay siguradong hinid lang mantsa ang makakabit, pati baho ng Macapagal-Arroyo. Wala silang ligtas!
atty36252,
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee should focus more on alleged influence peddling by presidential husband Miguel Arroyo. We hope that some witnesses will collaborate Joey De Venecia’s expose‘. Sen. Alan Cayetano can pin down his Tito Mike on Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. Let the Philippine Supreme Court decides the legality of the so-called executive agreement.
Section 5 of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act 3019) states that: “It shall be unlawful for the spouse or for any relative, by consanguinity or affinity, within the third civil degree, of the President of the Philippines, the Vice-President of the Philippines, the President of the Senate, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to intervene, directly or indirectly, in any business, transaction, contract or application with the Government.”
You bet, Chi. Pero ako kasi ako hindi puedeng makipagtsutsu sa korap at madali ko silang makilala kaya off limits ako ng pakikipag-deal sa kanila. Naaalibadbaran ako. Kaya nga hindi ko naging ka-deal si Pandak kahit na highly recommended sa akin noong kaklase niya.
Yup, kilala ko si Jesli, but I’m not as close to him as I am close to Senator Pimentel, whom I respect and admire kasi he is really trying his best against all odds for the sake of his country and people! Walang kurakot, and most of all, marunong magbigay—sa tama!!!
Maingat lang siyang magprepresenta ng mga witnesses sa Senado as a matter of fact dahil ayaw niyang masabit ang pangalan niya sa mga palpak.
Tawa nga ako, Chi, when the unano bragged to the Chinese that she was married to a Tsinoy na kamag-anak daw ni Rizal to that effect. May hallucination nga ang ungas!
Pati nga iyong nuno daw niya si Lakan Dula, hindi na nangilabot. Hindi niya alam na merong document proving that the descendants of Lakan Dula were named Capulong (spelled at first with a K). I doubt if ex-ICJ Judge Romy Capulong will admit kinship with this name dropper. Ang saya niya!
Abangan ang gagawin ng mga intsik.
Ke dinuro o hindi ng almost 2 inches in the face, bakit nga ba kailangan pang pagsabihan ni Mike Pidal si JoeyDVIII na umatras sa NBN Project kung wala siyang mahihita? Maliwanag na pakikialam ang ginawa ni FGentlepig. At maliwanag na kaya siya nakialam at nanindak ay baka makawala pa ang milyong dolyares na makakamal ng mga ‘broadbandits’ at kesehodang ang taong bayan kasama na ang mga anak at apo ang pagbabayarin. At nung nagkapirmahan na dinaluhan ni Gloria kahit na nakaratay sa sakit ang aswang este asawa ay siguradong ‘natanggap’ na ang ‘mark-up sa cost’ (or bribe cost) ng proyekto.
Someone mentioned about Daya-na Zubiri being quiet about this ZTE scam. Hindi kaya dahil isa siya sa beneficiary ng shady distribution noong gratuities for this transaction? I bet diyan nila balak din kunin iyong pambayad doon sa mga idinaya nila sa election last May.
At least, my suspicion is confirmed na may nilulutong makaw iyong Fatso even in connection with the cheating in the last election. O sino pa ang bubuga aside from Joey dV?
The ZTE deal and kickbacks were done before the election. of course a huge portion of the money went to the administration ticket. Zubiri and the rest of the Malacanang candidates benefited from it. Kaya nga kahit isa sa kanila walang kumikibo ngayon. Why don’t Tito Sotto and Tessie Oreta join this heated discussion. Tahimik sila kasi nakinabang din.
Paging Senators and Congressmen:
Magkaroon dapat ng amendment sa ganitong process ng mga projects involving people’s money. Dapat ke government-to-government project o hindi ay dapat maging transparent at palaging nang may bidding. Sa nangyayari ngayon ay lumalabas na madaling palang ‘palusutan’ ang mga lagayang ganito kung palalabasing govt-to-govt. At busisiin lahat ng pinasok ng administrasyon ni Gloria gamit ang ganitong raket!Hindi lang ang Senado dapat lahat ay maging mapagbantay sa mga kilos ng pekeng gobyernong ito. Mabuti naman at patuloy ang Freedom from Debt Coalition sa pagbabantay. Ilabas ang lahat ng kabulukan at pagsasamantala ng ilegal na gobyerno sa kaban ng bayan at sa karapatang pantao.
Sobra na! Tama na! Ibagsak na!
Who is not aware that most legislators subsist on their pork barrels which is alien to their functions.
Who is not aware that the executive people thrive on sovereign loan droppings?
As for the third branch, well I dont have enough space here for them.
Kanya kanya lang naman ang magkaroon ng racket.
So, are we really surprised all these things are happening?
MIDGET & her DOGS are really making a mockery of the Senate. Before, they don’t want people to attend Senate hearings. Then when they allowed, ALL of the Secretaries and Under-Secretaries went to the Senate even those who are not connected to the hearing.
They really feel they can do anything they want.
Tama na cguro hinala ko, na 30 sundalo na lang ang totoong nagmamahal sa bayan at kapwa pilipino… TAPOS NAKAKULONG PA LAHAT!!!
MIDGET will go again to China to seek Php8.4 Billion Development Aid? Amidst the ZTE issue?.. Ano b?.. Hindi ba obvious na may paplantsahin sya dun?.. Kailangan p bang imemorize yan?…
Tapos seeking Aid again from China?.. Why is Uncle Bush letting this happen in front of his face and under his nose even?..
Luzviminda,
It is standard procedure that any such transaction done by te government is done by public bidding. Hindi nga puede iyong ginawa nila Fatso at Abalos as a matter of fact.
In fact, the law requires that the bidding be considered null and void if there is only one bidder. The law prohibits a monopoly in the bidding as a matter of fact. Kaya nga hindi umubra iyong bidding nila ng Philippine patrimonies noon sa Japan because one of the two supposed bidders na bata ni Cory at FVR did not meet a requirement of the bidding. Nagmamadali kasi at nakalimutan ang tseke.
I bet you, ZTE issued a check for this transaction. Kailangan makita kung sino ang na-cash ng tseke!
DKG said the right words for this kind of activity of Luli’s father. It is influence peddling, etc. It is also considered illegal and punishable by fine and imprisonment even in graft and corruption saturated Philippines. Problema nga lang, shelved lahat ang batas ng Pilipinas para sa mga Pidal Mafia!
Formoso seemed to have had his way with the project cuz the geek-speak, which I’m sure was fed to him by ZTE themselves, confused the technophobes. That is a technique employed by engineers to impress then confuse (and bore?) their audience whose only recourse is to give him the benefit of the doubt. Everybody else, including Mendoza, Favila, Neri, and Gloria all fell for it.
I have provided some of the details of the technology Formoso was espousing here:
http://www.tongueinanew.blogspot.com
The ZTE-NBN deal is flawed in almost every respect that I can see. No amount of technical explanation (which Mendoza and others of his kind don’t know anything about) will make it right. The lingo is for computer engineers, like DOTC’s staff, but they don’t have (neither does Mendoza) the logic of its economics or importance to a poor agricultural country like the Philippines. True, they can overwhelm or confuse non-techies, as if the project is truly great. Not the discerning, as Tongue pointed out.
Why should Gloria’s govt do it in the first place? (I almost forgot, she won’t be around when another takes the reign and agonize in paying it, at the cost of taxpayers money.) There are already many such broadband networks in place, and that the private sector is in a better position to run a mammoth project like this, if efficiency and returns to investment are the name of the game. Besides, haven’t those people in high places learned anything from the failed Bataan nuclear plant? The NBN project, sans the overprice, is undoubtedly a wrong priority in development being pandered by crooked minds in govt, including the few (e.g., FG) who dictate how govt should act. The interest that they invoke is hideously their own, not the public.
That’s the long and short of it.
Wow, Tongue, finally you have your own blog! I’ll link it here.
Hindi ba ipinadaan iyan sa public bidding? Bakit hindi iyan batikosin on that angle?
Asec. Lorenzo Formoso is a good salesman. Everything is okay in papers. DOTC chief Mendoza, et al are like selling a Hyundai Elantra with a price of Lamborghini. Force majeure, upgrade, maintenance and systems total breakdown were not factored in their imaginary savings and projections. In the long term basis, Abalos’ ZTE broadband is a piece of junk in a short period of time. Mike Arroyo, Benjamin Abalos and Jose De Venecia are guilty of influence peddling and plunder.
Tongue,
Nakabisita na ako, hindi pa lang nakakomento. Impressive layout!
Breaking my self-imposed rule of not making comments on the candidates for the 2010 elections, I must commend the pragmatism of Senator Roxas in questioning the needfor the NBN project. With apologies to DKG, Mister Palenke shows the qualities of a good salesman: he sells you what you need, not what you want. He brutally demolished the bureaucratic nonsense of ASec Formoso’s spiel to justify the project based on non-existent empirical data, not even a fanciful guesstimate.
Ang laking pera ang pinag-uusapan sa Broadband-its AT CyberEd, pero ayan laging balita pag umulan ay…BAHA!!!!!! Bakit hindi ang problema sa BAHA ang pagtuunan ng gobyerno ng pera. Malaking perwisyo sa negosyo, kalusugan at buhay ng mga tao ang dulot nito pero ang perang para dito ay hindi na alam kung saan na napupunta. Puro madaliang pirmahan na pagkakaperahan ang inaatupag ng bulok na pekeng gobyerno ni Gloria!. Sobra na! Tama na! Ibagsak na!
The Philippines is an agricultural country. Ito ang dapat pagtuunan ng gobyerno. Kung paano mapapabuti ang ating mga agricultural and agrarian benefits. Pati na rin kung paano matutulungan ang ating mga magsasaka. Sa European governments ay malaking tulong ang nabibigay sa kanilang mga farm workers. Una na rito ay ang mga tractors and machineries na readily available liban pa sa mga maayos na patubig. Ganun din ang ginagawa sa Thailand. kaya naman ang lahat ng produkto ng Thailand ay makikita mo sa lahat ng bansa. Kaya nating higitan ang Thailand sa bagay na ito at gayahin ang policies ng mga European governments sa pagtulong sa mga farm workers. Kung maunlad ang ating agri at agra ay hindi na tayo kailangan pang maglabas ng dolyares para sa importations instead ay kikita pa tayo sa exports. Kaso ng may malaking pera na nakukurakot ang pekeng gobyernong ito sa mga imports. We need a NEW government that has good comprehensive developmental visions for the country!
Sobra na! Tama na! Ibagsak na!
Today is CommissionER Abalos’ 73rd birthday!Let’s be nice to him please.
Benjamin Abalos is in the “legacy phase “of his very distinguished career
1)Abalos claims to have supported himself through college by working as a janitor, factory worker, and a caddy at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club.
2)In 2001 Abalos was appointed chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), a post he held until the following year.
3)Abalos was appointed Comelec chairman in 2002.
His major achievements in Comelec:
a)Computerization Program: Comelec had awarded the contract to Mega Pacific Consortium – an entity that had not participated in the bidding process – and MPEI did not meet eligibility requirements. The deal was thumbed down by the Supreme Court.
b)2004 elections:”Hello Garci”.
c)2007 elections:”Lintang Bedol” and the “election” of the 12th senator(from Maguindanao)
4)Broker for ZTE deal.
Happy Birthday “Daddy Chair”!!!
Luzviminda, take note that I changed into sentence case your battle cry. It doesn’t have to be all caps, which is screaming and distracting.
ELLEN:
I saw a TV interview with Romulo Neri this afternoon.Heavily guarded .4 security vans just to go to his CHED office.Is he being protected or under custody?(he normally travels alone).He looked pretty nervous.
Congratulations, TT for the new blogsite! It’s enlightening.
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When i first blog here at Ellenvile sometime last year, I suggested that in order to offset the effects of lacking classrooms and qualified teachers, TV Stations like PTV4, Ch9 & 13 be used for broadcasting live classroom classes from say, UP, to each and every home in the country.
The TV stations are existing. The Philcomsat is still there. Even those poor families have their own Japanese surplus TV, i’m sure. So why not use this existing infrastructures, and save our grandsons and grand daughters from perpetual grandDebt?
We don’t need sophisticated machines to educate the masses. We only need a whiteboard, a pen, a good teacher, and a live TV camera.
But i guess, it’s NOT the masses that do need a good education. It’s men like Anomalous, the Fat Goon, Formusing, Assperon, and Glueria herself.
It’s really high time now to get rid of their asses.
Joey, don’t backoff!
Neri is under heavy pressure now.
Similar to Doble when he testified in the House of Representatives before.
If Neri still has dignity and pride left in himself, he should resign outright, and tell the people the whole Truth!
Sabi ng mga kriminal, this issue will die a natural death. Oh yeah? How? By circumventing the law as usual? Maraming violations ang ginawa dito as a matter of fact like not having a bidding for it. Kailangang ipairal na ang rule of law!
Ellen, paki-check nga iyong pagdi-dispose ng patrimonies in Japan na ginagawa daw sa Manila ngayon. Mukhang wala ring bidding and that will be against the law as prescribed by Philippine Law and provisions of the Reparations Treaty. Puede bang ipasa kay Atty. Roque for a review of these negotiations para alam namin ang gagawin namin sa Japan? At least, dito puede ding idemanda with the help of volunteer lawyers as a matter of fact.
NGEEEEEEEEEE …. mukhang ALIEN pala ang mag-ina.
Sori dapat sa kabila ko ilagay ito … sori
Former NEDA chief Romulo Neri has to explain why the original build-operate-transfer scheme was substituted with anomalous build-operate-tong scheme. Who offered him the P200-million bribe?
Answer: Not sure but I suspect it was Abalos. He being the ultimate fixer and the broker, he holds the cash cards…
One centavo question: May ‘yagballs ba si Romulo Neri para isabit si Abalos?
Crossposting here (my post in Quezon’s blog):
In theory, when a major multi-billion peso project is decided for implementation in less than a year, there’s a call for rejoicing.
How wonderful it would be for Pinas if only decisions were made for these projects to be implemented and if they weren’t tainted, i.e., costs bloated, corruption ridden, etc.!
You described Gloria often to be a hands on micro management prone sort of leader, i.e., quizzing line by line of the budget proposal to Congress, etc.. Yet, this NBN deal smacks of half-baked scrutiny if ever it was scrutinized.
Just look at this:
On March 26, 2007: “special joint meeting” of the NEDA Investment Coordination Committee, Cabinet Committee and Technical Board,
The ICC-Cabinet Committee and Technical Board of NEDA had serious doubts about the “economic viability” of the project. Too, they wanted to be further assured that it would be good for the government to have its own backbone, rather than use private sector services.
On March 29, 2007, the NEDA board approved the project,
On April 21, Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza signed in China the $329-million “provisional contract” with ZTE.
On the same day, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila signed, also in China, an agreement for a separate China government loan of $504-million (P22.77 billion) for the CEP.
Also on April 21, Mrs Arroyo flew to China for a few hours to attend an economic forum in Hainan province…
Read http://www.gmanews.tv/story/61443/Cabinet-split-on-cost-benefits-of-NBN-overlap-with-CyberEd
The story that the ZTE won the contract fair and square might be true if indeed the original price is USD 136M. However, with all the kickbacks and commissions demanded by these people ( Abalos et al ) , it won’t surprise anyone that these will be added to the project cost. The only problem is that they are so greedy to go beyond the “accepted” SOP and the project cost rose to about three times as much. Technically, talo talaga ang AHI if the original bid of ZTE is really just USD136M.
Walang pinagkaiba itong project na ito sa another overpriced project like the SUBIC-CLARK-Tarlac highway… originally, the Japanese contractor, who won the contract, originally bid for Php8B daw… tapos lumobo ang project to Php15B… and lately naging Php24B na! Eto, ang kawawang project, hanggang ngayon hindi pa tapos… pero tayo ang magbabayad nang mga nakick back ng mga damuhong ito. I wouldn’t be surprised if lumitaw ulit ang mga pangalan ng mga parehong tao sangkot sa ZTE deal… nasa dugo na nila yun!
Dapat talaga sila yung kinasuhan ng plunder!
Piping dilat,
Sanay na sanay ang mga plunderer kaya lang noon ay walang pumiyok. Simula na ang gibaan nila sa loob, soon kanya-kanyang turuan ‘yan, merry-go round na! Signs of Gloria’s inevitable end.
Folks, just want to share with you a rational, down-to-earth analysis of the overpriced, anomalous and worthless NBN deal that this Abalos has been brokering – http://images.gmanews.tv/pdf/nbn_deal.doc
The question UP authors Fabella and de Dios ask is, are the two projects on ICT (the NBN broadband project, called “backbone”, and the cyber project on education) justified? In conclusion, they say it is NOT, because of problems like “last mile connectivity” (bad roads and poor communication, no electricity in the rural areas that frustrate ICT), system security (rebels would just bomb it), the private sector can do it on BOT scheme, etc.
I like their parting statement: “The only backbone the governemtn needs today is a moral one; not fiber optic but fibre politique.”
Diego K. Guerrero Says: “One centavo question: May ‘yagballs ba si Romulo Neri para isabit si Abalos?”
meron naman. kaya nga willing siyang mag-testify sa senate hearing kung hindi sinuspinde ng walanghiyang si gloria ang kontrata ng SHIT deal. ‘yun nga lang, ang yagballs niya, kasinlaki ng munggo.
at least mas malaki kaysa betlog ni esPWEron na kailangan pang gamitan ng maykroskop para makita.
sayang nga, eh. pagkakataon na sana ni neri na makaganti sa demotion niya. kakantahin na sana niya ang “my way”.