A former political ally of Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said yesterday he was prepared to expose widespread corruption within the administration.
Former House of Representatives speaker Jose de Venecia told foreign correspondents that Arroyo's husband, two sons and a brother-in-law bribed legislators using public funds to oust him from the post he held for 12 years.
The move, de Venecia said, was a "personal vendetta" because his son, Jose de Venecia III, blew the whistle on an overpriced telecoms deal between the government and China's state-run ZTE firm in which certain officials allegedly were promised kickbacks.
De Venecia's threat signaled more trouble for Arroyo in the remaining two years of her six-year term, which has been marred by three failed attempts to impeach her, a coup attempt and failed rebellion by a restless military.
He said he would use the floor of the House to outline in detail what he described as "corruption in all units of the government."
De Venecia, who until Monday had been speaker for 12 years, said he would offer "first-hand" knowledge and proof of shady deals, and that he would volunteer to testify against the first family if Congress launched a full investigation.
"They have no choice but to investigate," said de Venecia, who remains among one of the most politically powerful figures in the Philippines.
"We will oppose all attempts against bribery and corruption," he said, naming Arroyo's two sons, Diosdado and Juan Miguel, brother-in-law Ignacio and husband Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo as the people who worked to oust him.
He said the men used "public funds" to bribe congressmen into voting to unseat him in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
An overwhelming majority of the House voted to replace de Venecia with close Arroyo ally Prospero Nograles after a marathon session that went past midnight on Monday.
Apart from alleged corruption, de Venecia promised he would also divulge details of vote-rigging during the May 2004 election that Arroyo won by a slim margin.
Following the 2004 vote, opposition House lawmakers tried to impeach Arroyo after a recording of a phone call emerged between a woman sounding like the president and an elections officer who appeared to be conspiring to rig the polls.
Arroyo has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, but never denied she was the woman on the tape.
In related news, a witness in a Philippine Senate inquiry who has implicated Mike Arroyo in the telecoms scandal said yesterday a former elections chief threatened to kill him if he tried to deny him a huge kickback on a government contract.
Rodolfo Lozada Jr, a former government consultant on the US$330 million broadband contract with ZTE, was taken into police custody on Wednesday at Manila's airport after he returned from a trip abroad, in what officials said was a move to protect his life.
Lozada was later released and told a news conference yesterday that Benjamin Abalos, the former elections chief who allegedly acted as a broker for the contract, threatened to kill him if he didn't secure a kickback for him by overpricing the contract by US$130 million.
Lozada has emerged as a key witness in the scandal that exploded last year when Mike Arroyo was implicated in the inquiry.
Jose de Venecia III, the losing bidder who later blew the whistle on the deal, told investigators Mike Arroyo was promised a US$70 million kickback for approving the overpriced contract. Lozada said he met only once with Mike Arroyo and de Venecia.
Abalos quit after the scandal broke last year and has refused to comment on Lozada's latest accusations that Abalos issued death threats against him.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS