ZTE, Ben Abalos, Joey de Venecia III, and the Mystery Man

This is too dramatic to even think that what we’re talking about is actually a political matter. If you look at it closely, you’ll see that the plot revolves around money and the power struggles between evil and corrupt men. The sad thing in this saga is that it lacks a protagonist. Everyone, including the ’star witness’ is bad; the only thing that spares him from being lynched is that he is less evil than his co-stars in this story.

To begin with, I think there is some truth to the rumor that AHI (Amsterdam Holdings INC) holds a grudge for losing the bid in the NBN (National Broadband Network). I mean, who wouldn’t? After proposing a plan that’ll cost the government a fraction of what ZTE Corp. has offered, after being offered bribe money in your face to back off and after being harassed by the ‘mystery man’ to stay quiet, Joey de Venecia III (JDV3) must have felt like a little boy, bullied to stay put in a dark corner.

The first things that come to mind are these:
1. What the hell is Abalos doing in that deal that obviously doesn’t concern the COMELEC?
2. If JDV3 couldn’t stomach the massive corruption in this deal, then why go all the way to China to forge a tie-up with the ZTE Execs?
3. Who is this newest cast member, the mystery man?

I watched Ricky Carandang’s The Big Picture last weekend and saw that, to my delight, his guest was JDV3. Throughout the show, I got the impression that he was being cautious in his answers. I mean, I know he doesn’t want to divulge any information outside the proper forum (Senate hearings), but I think he’s protecting his father from getting glued into all of this. Doesn’t it seem weird that the Speaker’s son is entering a deal with the government? And a multi-mullion deal at that too. Since his father is such a high profile politician, wouldn’t others notice the conflict of interest in this deal if ever AHI was awarded the contract? And if AHI did win, won’t the issue of NBN shift to discovering why AHI was awarded such a deal considering the major stockholder is the son of a government official?

To put it frankly, I think JDV3 has come out because he didn’t win anything; no money, no deal not even respect from people he might have considered his father’s friends. If he didn’t like Abalos’ ‘gangster’ rule in this deal, he should have just turned his back on the bribe, walked away and then came out. I have to say that JDV3’s timing is so way off. Instead of being the good guy, everyone now looks at him like a vengeful sore loser. You can’t put away the thought that he is doing all this to get back at Abalos and his gang of corrupt bullies.

I see that JDV3’s confessions have done us good, but his supposed intentions aren’t entirely pure though. Too bad, too bad. Abalos, I must say, has outdone himself again. Can you imagine, Abalos wants 2/3 of the NBN deal for himself? That’s insane! That kind of money could put hundreds, if not thousands, of kids to school, or build buildings (e.g. housing projects, schools, infrastructures etc) or health care improvements and even to pay off the country’s debt! It’s crazy to think that while others suffer, the high and mighty think of nothing else than to gain more money and power to themselves. And being public officials, that’s called being immoral.

Meanwhile, why does Angara want to probe into the ZTE deal only after it’s official and signed? What is he thinking? I’m afraid he has lost all logic when he went over PGMA’s camp. The probe into this deal should come before it is signed, isn’t it logical that way? And PGMA reasons that as a democratic country, we should honor any sort of deal that the government has gone into. Does she intend to waste the people’s taxes (again) into this meaningless crap?

Someone please, call on Abalos, JDV3 and all the cohorts all at once in the Senate hearings. Maybe that way, they’ll punch each other’s faces to keep everyone quiet. And maybe who knows, they could possibly kill each other in the process (ang mean ko noh).