Kiko to Mrs. Arroyo:
You failed to act appropriately
Press Release
By Office of Senator Kiko Pangilinan
February 24, 2008
"It is difficult to
believe that PGMA only knew about the kickbacks late in the day," –
Kiko
PASAY CITY,
Philippines
–
After PGMA admitted
that she learned about the irregularities of the ZTE deal the night
before she witnessed the signing of the contract, Senate Majority
Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan today criticized Mrs.
Arroyo for continuing with the project even if things are looking
black.
"It is difficult to
believe that PGMA only knew about the kickbacks on the eve of her
departure for China. Still, assuming for the sake of argument that the
President is telling the truth that she only found out late in the day
about the allegations of bribery and kickbacks, why then did she not
order a thorough investigation of the criminal acts committed and in
the meantime insist that the contract signing be placed on hold
instead of going ahead, traveling all the way to China to be a
witness to its signing?" Kiko asked.
It will be recalled
that last April 21, 2007, Mrs. Arroyo personally traveled to China to
witness the signing of five contracts between the Philippines and the
Chinese government.
"In other words, if
what she says is true, her subsequent acts of proceeding with the
approval of the contract proves that at the very least she tolerated
and condoned criminal activities. At worse she was party to it. Either
way it appears she failed to act appropriately and may have betrayed
the public trust by this failure. Finally, her cancellation of the
contract happened seven months after the signing and only after the
bribery and overpricing were exposed in the Senate hearings. What did
she do during the seven months that she had known about the illegal
acts? With all due respect, the President was forced to cancel the
contract only after it had become a major scandal. She has painted
herself into a corner by this admission." Kiko ended.
