Gordon puzzled by Madriaga's refusal to sign own statement

Senator Richard Gordon had expressed puzzlement why engineer Dante Madriaga had refused to admit authorship of his written account of alleged irregularities attending the national broadband network (NBN) project, while freely testifying on the same under oath before the Senate Tuesday.

Pressed by Gordon to confirm as factual a copy of the written account that had made its way into the internet, Madriaga said the document Gordon showed at the Senate was "substantially correct" but that he would like the Senate to instead get a copy of the document from his own USB storage device.

But what piqued the interest of Senator Gordon and Senator Rodolfo Biazon was when Madriaga said he would not sign the document from his USB even after Senate staff members had downloaded and printed it.

Madriaga cited as justification for refusing to sign the document his not having a lawyer during the hearing.

"Why would you need a lawyer if you yourself wrote it?" Gordon asked Madriaga. "What's the difference between your written statement and your statement under oath before this hearing?"

Madriaga said he needed to review with his lawyer some details in his written account.

Gordon stressed that he wanted to be fair to everyone by being sure that statements made before the Senate, especially by the same witness, do not contradict one another. He said Madriaga should have asked for a lawyer before testifying at the Senate.

The senator reserved the right to quiz anew Madriaga on his written account of the alleged NBN irregularities and his testimony on the same matter before the Senate.