Press Release
July 31, 2009

Firm and fair, serious and sincere--Gordon says of NBN-ZTE deal report

Senator Richard J. Gordon (Ind.) today said that he is not delaying the release of the committee report on the $329 million national broadband network-ZTE controversy, stressing that the report would be firm and fair, serious and sincere.

Gordon, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, said that the NBN-ZTE deal investigation report is too important to be rushed, pointing out that he did not want to release the report while everyone is still focused on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) and other events and news in the country.

"I cannot just release the report if no one would listen because everyone is still busy discussing the President's SONA and her trip to the United States. Paano papansinin ng tao yung report? At kapag nilabas ko na, hindi rin papansinin ng Ombudsman. Proper timing is important because we have to highlight the report so the people would better understand what really happened," he said.

Gordon said there is no need to rush him into issuing the NBN-ZTE deal investigation report because, like the report on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, he made sure that it is firm and fair, serious and sincere.

In the fertilizer fund scam report, Gordon issued a complete list of recommendations including all the persons to be charged, led by former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, and proposed remedial measures aimed at plugging loopholes in the country's current laws.

"We had a comprehensive report on the fertilizer fund scam. It was complete with all the necessary recommendations including the filing of charges against those whom the committee found guilty. Sadly though, up to this day, the Ombudsman has not filed any charges against anyone. Now, Mr. Bolante even wants to become Capiz governor," Gordon said.

Gordon assumed chairmanship of the blue ribbon panel on November 2008 and, right away, had to conduct successive hearings on the fertilizer fund scam.

Right after releasing the report on the fertilizer fund mess, Gordon took the responsibility of drafting the investigation report on the NBN-ZTE deal after his predecessor, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who conducted 12 hearings and steered six technical working group meetings on the controversy, refused to do the report apparently because he is no longer with the majority.

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