MANILA, 2 October 2007 — The scandal-tainted Philippine elections chief announced his resignation yesterday, amid allegations he tried to bribe a Cabinet official and a businessman to approve a broadband contract with a Chinese company.
With his resignation, Benjamin Abalos, head of the Commission on Elections, avoided possible impeachment in the House of Representatives.
“I’m resigning...effective immediately,” Abalos said at a news conference. “However, let not my detractors feast on this declaration. I’m not admitting guilt for any wrongdoing.”
The impeachment complaint, filed last week, stems from a Senate hearing at which former Socioeconomics Secretary Romulo Neri said Abalos offered him $4.4 million to endorse a Chinese company’s bid.
The $330 million contract with China’s Zhong Xing Telecommunication Equipment (ZTE) Corp. has been suspended. The company has denied any irregularities.
In a Senate hearing last week, Jose “Joey” de Venecia III, founder of a losing Philippine bidder, Amsterdam Holdings Inc., also claimed Abalos offered him $10 million to withdraw his own broadband proposal.
Abalos has denied all allegations, and has complained he was treated unfairly by senators. He said his resignation was meant to spare the elections body “from the vicious and malicious attacks on my person.”
His lawyers said Abalos would file damage suits against de Venecia III and Neri. An additional complaint of perjury would be lodged against Neri for allegedly lying under oath when he accused Abalos of bribery during a nationally televised Senate hearing, lawyers for Abalos said.
De Venecia III and Neri stood by their allegations against Abalos. De Venecia III told ABS-CBN TV network that he felt no pity for Abalos, because he had personally “witnessed the greed of this man.”
“We respect his decision and appreciate his desire to protect his family and the Commission on Elections from vicious politics,” Ignacio Bunye, spokesman for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, said in a statement.
The scandal has caused fresh domestic political concerns as Arroyo tries to rally investors amid an improving economy. At the same time, Abalos’ resignation may have spared Arroyo’s administration more embarrassment, as lawmakers sought to probe the controversy further.
“I think it pulls the rug from under those people who filed the impeachment complaint. But...there are still questions to be answered,” said Sen. Rodolfo Biazon.
Neri has testified he told Arroyo about Abalos’ bribe attempt and was advised not to take it. He refused, however, to elaborate on his conversation with Arroyo.
De Venecia also implicated the president’s husband, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, saying he told de Venecia to “back off” from the bidding.
A lawyer for Mike Arroyo, Jesus Santos, said Arroyo only reminded de Venecia — the son of the speaker of the House — that as a relative of a government official he should not get involved in government transactions.
China’s government has said questions over the ZTE contract would not affect its growing business ties with the Philippines.
