Villar: Senate is validating Madriaga's testimony

Senate President Manny Villar said the Senate will carefully scrutinize and validate the testimony of Senate witness Dante Madriaga, an engineer who worked as consultant with ZTE, on the national broadband network deal.

"We are duty-bound to cross-check and validate even the minutest details of the testimony of a witness, whether he is from the private sector or from the government," Villar said in a radio interview. . "Facts, dates, will be verified so we will know if the missing pieces of the puzzle fit," the Nacionalista Party president said.

Villar also cited, "Yesterday, we were trying to test his (Madriaga's) knowledge of the ZTE-NBN deal, and it seems he knows a lot of particulars."

"If he is a Trojan horse, then it seems this Trojan horse has been skillfully trained," said the Senate president.

He also said background checks on witnesses will be done "before and after" his or her testimony "so we will know if his or her statement can be relied upon."

"We are doing this because we know that some parties who do not want the truth to come out will try to muddle the investigation," he said.

"What if a witness comes up with this riveting testimony but would later recant it and say that he was just paid to do it? That will derail the investigation," Villar said.

Villar said the Senate's "dedication to thoroughness" will also disprove accusations that anybody can just walk in the Senate and offer his testimony.

"There are safeguards in place and we will be able to detect a fake or paid witness a mile away. Besides, witness with bogus credentials will be exposed during the cross examination by senators," he stressed.