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Ex-Arroyo ally threatens expose

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.
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