ILOILO CITY – Iloilo Vice Gov. Rolex Suplico yesterday brushed aside the statement of  Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo Jr. (Neg. Occ., 5th District) that  he was an “attack dog” for his latest expose on the NBN-ZTE deal.

“I'm not on an attack mode. I'm not a dog either,” Suplico said, partly in jest, in a telephone interview.

The vice governor offered no let-up in his exposé along with an unidentified witness that  the President made an undisclosed trip to China and met with ZTE officials on Nov. 2, 2006.

He said Malacañang's admission that the President, indeed, made the trip showed that the President “once again lied.”

“The President was caught lying. If this happened in another country, the President and all her appointed officials would have already resigned,” said Suplico.

Suplico said the admission affirms the revelation of a witness that the President, along with First Gentleman Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, had an unannounced meeting with ZTE officials at the company's headquarters in Shenzhen, China five months before the contract was signed.

He also pointed out that the previously unknown trip of the First Couple was arranged by former Commission on Elections chair Benjamin Abalos Sr., as confirmed by Abalos' lawyer, Salvador Panlelo.

“He (Abalos) had no business in these kinds of transactions as Comelec chair,” Suplico said.

Rep. Ignacio Arroyo Jr. (Neg Occ., 5th District) yesterday said there was nothing anomalous in the meeting of the President in China that Suplico was talking about.

“I am asking and challenging former congressman and now vice governor Suplico to substantiate his charges,” Arroyo said.

That is the problem with the opposition, they want to always come out in the media and do some damage, and they leave their accusations unsubstantiated, he said.

“As far as I know the people feel the NBN ZTE matter is already a close chapter but if the Senate revives it by all means but let them find real evidence and if they find it they should bring the matter to court,” Arroyo said.

Former National Economic and Development Authority director general Romulo Neri had testified on Sept. 26 at the Senate joint inquiry into the NBN-ZTE deal that Abalos offered him P200 million in exchange for approving the deal with ZTE. Abalos has vehemently denied the charge.

The President canceled the $329-million project on Sept. 22, 2007, days after the Supreme Court ordered that its implementation be temporarily stopped amid allegations of bribery and corruption.

She had said in an interview with radio commentator Joe Taruc of dzRH on February 23 that she only knew of the purported high-level corruption attending the National Broadband Network (NBN) project the night before she signed the supply contract on April 21, 2007.

But Suplico said irregularities in the contract “do not happen overnight. It takes time.”

He said the President “had no business talking with a supplier” five months before the signing of the contract.

Malacañang had said that there was nothing wrong with the First Couple's meeting with ZTE officials in China, saying it was a private and social activity.

But Suplico questioned why the trip was not on the President's itinerary and why journalists covering the President were kept unaware of the trip.

“Why the secrecy? It took a year and a half (for Malacañang) to disclose this? This is unacceptable behavior from a chief executive,” he said.

Suplico who is handling the witness whom he identifies only as “Alex” denied the allegations of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, a staunch ally of the President, that the witness was lawyer Alex Avisado Jr. He also brushed aside speculations that it was former Speaker Jose de Venecia.

“Alex is not Alex Avisado. He's not JDV either,” said Suplico. He said the witness' identity would be only made public if he is asked to testify before the Senate investigation.

Suplico also brushed aside the statement of Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita that the coming out of the witness appeared to be a diversion from the controversy over the high power rates of Manila Electric Company.

“When I was still a congressman, I was one of those who raised issues against Meralco and the (Government Service Insurance System). I'm not a stockholder of Meralco or a Lopez. The only thing common between me and the Lopezes is that we are Ilonggos,” said Suplico who served for three terms as representative of Iloilo's 5th congressional district.

He said he believes that the revelation of his witness will affect the final report of the Senate's Blue Ribbon committee which is investigating the scrapped deal.

“We don't expect earthquakes and lightings after the exposé. We are only after the truth.”

Suplico said he and his witness have not yet received any invitation to testify in the Senate investigation but he said they would be willing to do so.

“All major allegations have been admitted. Except for a few details, there is no more to say and prove,” he said.*NPB

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