Broadband row tied to JdV fate
Julius F. FortunaWe thought for a while that the controversy over the national broadband network (NBN) was geopolitical that involved the interest of Beijing and Washington. Now, it is becoming clear that this row is a story of a losing bidder complaining about a contract.
ZTE, a Chinese telecommunications firm, had earlier bagged the contract to provide Internet services to the government, including the small towns. But Amsterdam Holdings, a firm owned partly by Jose de Venecia 3rd (son of the speaker), is challenging the awarding of the contract on several grounds, including the price.
We were even surprised that US Ambassador to Manila Kristie Kenney had to join the debate, saying that there has to be “fairness” in the contract. This fueled the suspicion that AHI formed the core of American interest. But after much reportage in the press, which included paid ads, domestic politics entered the picture. It seems that cronyism is at the root of this problem.
As part of their polemics against the incumbent speaker, three lawmakers vowed to make sure that the House will investigate the reported efforts of the son of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. to corner the national broadband network (NBN) project of the government. NBN and the speakership had joined up.
Reps. Jose Solis of Sorsogon, Luis Villafuerte of Camarines Sur and Danilo Suarez of Quezon—all supporters of Pablo Garcia of Cebu for speaker—said they will initiate the probe to determine if the name of Speaker de Venecia had been used by the young de Venecia in relation to the project.
The speaker’s son, Jose de Venecia 3rd, has been attacking in media the NBN deal forged by the government with ZTE of China, while pushing a competing NBN proposal of a company he co-founded, Amsterdam Holdings, Inc. (AHI).
Villafuerte had also demanded that AHI could not even provide a corporate profile to determine the personalities behind it, its financial standing and its technical capability.
For this, Villafuerte, as well as Solis and Suarez, said AHI’s proposal may have been pinned solely on its co-founder’s relationship with the House speaker. The young de Venecia is also a stockholder of AHI.
The move of the three congressmen is clearly an attempt to put the speaker on the defensive in the run-up to the election come July 23. At present, the speaker seems to have the numbers. But his opponents think that the list of JdV’s voters published in the newspapers is tentative.
A general at the Kapihan sa Sulo
It is a rare chance for journalists to meet AFP officers because of their sensitive jobs. That’s why we welcomed last Saturday Lt. Gen. Alexander B. Yano, who spoke at the Kapihan sa Sulo about the work of the soldiers on the ground.
We found out that Yano is an articulate officer, possessed with the capability to state official policy with eloquence and precision. As commander of the Southern Luzon Command, he knows his mission, to insure that the south belly of Manila is protected.
He is an expert on Mindanao, having been commander of the brigade that guards the center of the main island. Of course, he knows the culture of the region because he comes from Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte. He knows how to fight and to talk—having been chairman of the ceasefire committee dealing with the MIF.
Journalists asked him difficult questions, like extrajudicial killings now hounding the government. He said that there is no government policy encouraging extrajudicial killings; if there were, he would surely know about it. In his SOLCOM, he makes sure that political work among the people is 85 percent of the whole battle for the hearts and minds of the barangays. The remaining 15 percent is combat—which could not be avoided because the enemy is armed.
BRIEF NOTES. How much is our foreign and domestic debt? Records show that the state’s debt stood at P3.9 trillion, or about $84.7 billion. Of that amount, about 44 percent is owed to foreign creditors and the balance to domestic lenders.
