Press Release
September 30, 2007

KIKO: SENATE WILL NOT STOP
PURSUIT OF TRUTH BEHIND NBN DEAL;

SAYS LEGISLATIVE WORK NOT HAMPERED BY HEARINGS

"We have enough evidence to establish that the NBN deal violated standard operating procedures of government transactions, and the Senate will not step back now in finding out who must be held liable for this anomaly."

Senate Majority Leader Kiko Pangilinan today asserted that the Upper Chamber's Blue Ribbon Committee will continue its probe into the controversial NBN ZTE broadband deal.

"We will definitely not take Secretary Neri's invocation of executive privilege sitting down. His loyalty, first and foremost, should be to the public and not to the President. He can only use executive privilege if public interest will be served, and we have reason to believe it is not so in this case," Kiko said.

"The First Gentleman has been linked to the contract. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was informed by Neri that he was bribed by Abalos. It is crucial to find out what the President did about this, and why the contract was approved despite talks of kickbacks and bribery. Add this to the fact that GMA didn't hold anyone accountable even after an investigation. Why did she preempt the Senate or the Ombudsman? Do we smell a whitewash or cover-up here? Secretary Neri should be ready because we will not stop util he speaks out," Kiko added.

"While the Senate's primary duty is to legislate, it is also mandated to act as a check and balance to its co-equal branches. We cannot turn our backs on this matter. We assure the public however that the legislative work of the Senate is not compromised, and that the Senate will continue passing measures that respond to the eeds of our people." Kiko ended.

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