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Philippine official resigns over bribe scandal

A Philippine public official at the center of a major bribe scandal involving a state-owned Chinese company resigned yesterday amid growing controversy over a US$330 million Internet broadband deal.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos said his resignation was not an admission of guilt but was intended to spare Comelec from further controversy over the deal.

Abalos said he had not discussed his decision with Philippine President Gloria Arroyo and said his resignation would "negate the accusation that this administration is out to protect me and my incumbency."

Arroyo suspended the project on Sept. 22 as the controversy threatened to implicate her husband in the deal.

Interior secretary Ronaldo Puno congratulated Abalos for his decision, saying "he's thinking about the institution."

He denied Abalos, considered an ally of Arroyo's, was resigning as a "sacrificial lamb" to save the administration from being further dragged into the controversy.

Last week, a former Cabinet secretary told a Senate hearing that Abalos tried to bribe him to ensure that the US$330 million broadband contract would go to ZTE Corp.

This echoed accusations by a rival bidder that ZTE had won the contract partly through Abalos's brokering.

In light of the accusations an impeachment complaint was filed against Abalos in the House of Representatives.

Abalos has denied any guilt and accused the Senate of treating him unfairly.

"I am willing to face any and all charges that would be filed against me," Abalos said, adding that his resignation showed he was not using the Comelec office to shield himself.

He also said his "crusade" to clear his name would continue and his lawyer said he would be filing damage suits against those who accused him.

Abalos, a former local politician, has long been a controversial figure in Philippine politics and has been accused of using his position to help benefit certain candidates.

The broadband deal with ZTE -- signed by Arroyo in April in Hainan, China -- was to set up a national broadband network for the exclusive use of the Philippine government and its agencies.

But it was suspended after allegations in the Philippine media and the country's Senate of supposed government incompetence, corruption and nepotism.
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