Philippine Senate calls for graft inquiry against President Arroyo

Nov 11, 2009, 3:56 GMT

   Manila - A Philippine Senate committee has called for an investigation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo after allegations she received kickbacks from a scrapped 329-million-dollar deal with a Chinese firm, a senator said Wednesday.

   The Senate's Blue Ribbon Committee, after a two-year inquiry into the case, also recommended filing graft charges against Arroyo's husband and several former and current government officials involved in the deal.

   The committee's head, Senator Richard Gordon, said the Office of the Ombudsman, an independent body with the power to investigate and prosecute government officials, had to further investigate Arroyo's alleged role in the affair for possible impeachment.

   'Her acts in this case reveal that her performance of presidential duty has been wanting,' he said, quoting the committee's report, which was released late Tuesday.

   Gordon said Arroyo had 'lots to answer for' after the Senate investigation found that she knew bribes were offered to ensure that the contract for a national broadband network would go to China's ZTE Corp but did not act on those reports.

   Arroyo even travelled to Hainan, China, to witness the signing of the contract in April 2007. In October 2007, she scrapped the deal amid the controversy.

   Witnesses also testified that Arroyo and her husband received at least 5 million dollars in illegal commissions from the contract while ZTE advanced 30 million dollars to help fund the campaigns of pro-government candidates for the 2007 senatorial and congressional elections.

   Presidential spokesman Cerge Remonde disputed the Senate committee report, stressing that Arroyo had ordered an investigation into the allegations of bribery in the ZTE contract but the results were inconclusive.

   Remonde said all the allegations against Arroyo were not backed by evidence but agreed the ombudsman must conduct further investigations to give all those implicated a chance to clear their names.

   'We are saddened that once again the president is being made a scapegoat as well as a pawn for political agendas,' he said. 'Investigation by the ombudsman is clearly called for as this will give everyone the chance to clear their names.'