Gordon to recommend charges against all involved in NBN ZTE deal

I didn't see the NBN ZTE hearing yesterday on TV but I heard it on AM radio, so I didn't see if Joey De Venecia III actually pulled his hair when he learned that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee would recommend filing charges against him for his involvement in the NBN ZTE deal.

Senator Richard Gordon, who heads the Blue Ribbon Committee, has made a bold stand against graft and corruption. It is pointing towards the direction that Better Philippines has been espousing, which is that liability for corrupt acts should extend to the family members of government officials.

Senator Gordon said that the De Venecias as well as Jun Lozada were liable for graft. Here is an excerpt from an Inquirer article.

“When you come in as the son of the Speaker and you make [contract] offers to a government, that does not look good, at the very least. That is not a judgment; that is the law,” he said.

Gordon pointed out that De Venecia III had talked with Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza about his own firm’s broadband project.

“That means you’re trying to induce, to propose and that is covered under the Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” Gordon said.

“My point here, sir, is that if I say that, it does not mean you are guilty. It means that you should be charged, and that you should be given every opportunity to be heard.”

Gordon said all three draft committee reports had recommended that everyone involved in the scandal, including Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, “if he did anything wrong,” should be charged before the Ombudsman.

“And I’m not going to exempt the President of the Philippines [or] Mr. Arroyo, you can be assured of that,” Gordon told De Venecia III.

“And I certainly am not going to exempt you just because you are the Speaker’s son, and I am not going to exempt your father because he is the former Speaker,” he added.