Undue Haste

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The National Broadband Network is a government project that was supposed to address telecommunications needs of national government agencies and local government units.

This internet-based network will connect every segment of the government, from the national level down to the barangay level, covering the entire archipelago, effectively reducing the cost of communication between government units as well as the need for travel. It is supposed to enhance the delivery of services by reducing the lag time waiting for replies to queries and decisions. The NBN is one of the few projects of the government that actually looks good on paper. Unfortunately for the NBN, whatever merits it had on paper were erased by the dubious circumstances surrounding the contract signing between the Philippine government and ZTE Corp, a major player of the telecommunications industry in China.

The undue haste with which the contract was signed was one of the warning bells that led to numerous questions being raised regarding the integrity of the deal. The most glaring defect of the contract was the discovery that ZTE Corp. won the $330 million contract in spite of not submitting the lowest bid and the best terms. Other issues raised were the mysterious disappearance of the Philippine government's copies of the contract shortly after they were signed and the fact that the contract was signed when an election ban on government projects was still in effect.

The President, who was present during the contract signing, had chosen to keep silent regarding the contract until now, 2½ months after, when she finally ordered the Department of Justice to review the deal. Why the Philippine government took so long to review a deal that has been described as grossly disadvantageous to the Philippines, adds fuel to the speculation regarding the beneficiaries of any shady deals that may have been made with this contract. Hopefully the DOJ, along with all the government agencies concerned in this deal, are reviewing this case with the best interests of the Filipino people in mind, and not just as a knee-jerk response to the growing negative media storm generated by the questionable NBN contract.*