Press Release
October 1, 2007

SENATORS CAN STILL ACT AS IMPARTIAL JUDGE IN ABALOS IMPEACHMENT AFTER PROBE OF BROADBAND SCANDAL

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today debunked the criticism that the senators' participation in the inquiry into the national broadband contract awarded to China's ZTE Corp. has rendered them incapable of acting as independent jurors in the impeachment case against Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos.

Pimentel said it is not correct to say that the senators have already prejudged Abalos, who was tagged as broker of broadband deal, just because they were the ones who have investigated it.

He emphasized that the evidence to be presented during the impeachment proceedings will be the sole determining factor for the senators' decision on the case.

"We are not going to judge him on the basis of what transpired in the past. We will judge him on the basis of the evidence that will be presented before the Senate during the impeachment trial, if ever the complaint gets to the Senate," the minority leader said.

Pimentel said there is a grain of truth behind the observation that Chairman Abalos is being made a sacrificial lamb by the administration to protect certain political personalities who may have had a hand in the anomalous telecommunications project.

"I think in all honesty that Chairman Abalos is being made a sacrificial lamb in this exercise to deflect attention from the more serious implications of this deal," he said.

"So if the head of Abalos is brought on a silver to the Senate for finishing off, probably the people will be more or less mollified by this gesture."

On the possibility that the Comelec head may spill the beans on other personalities involved in the deal to defend himself, Pimentel said "he just might do that."

"But at this point, he is the most expendable among the President's men."

Pimentel said that Abalos, along with Commission on Higher Education Chairman Romulo Neri, will have to go back to the Senate to continue their testimony because there are still a number of questions that the senators want to ask from him.

He also said that the impeachment case will definitely humstrung Abalos' performance of his official functions especially now that Comelec activities related to the Oct. 29 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections have gone into high gear.

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