Senators Weary Of Dante Madriaga
I guess I’m not the only one skeptical and weary of Dante Madriaga. After all, if his testimony is bought hook line and sinker, and then later recants, it will be to the detriment of The Senate and the proceedings regarding the NBN deal. What if Madriaga later says he was forced to say these things, then the whole Senate will be undermined. Senate President Manny Villar echoed this sentiment, as did Senator Kiko Pangilinan and Mar Roxas.
Dante Madriaga, who claims to be a consultant for ZTE in the said project, yesterday told senators that President Gloria Arroyo and her husband First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, among others, allegedly benefited from the deal.
In any case, no less than Senate President Manny Villar has expressed caution in buying Dante Madriaga’s testimony in front of The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
Villar 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.”
During the Tuesday hearing, Roxas deferred questioning Madriaga until his claims are placed in a sworn affidavit, with all details clearly threshed out.
“I defer my questioning not because of doubts on Madriaga’s testimony, but because it would provide greater weight to his statements if we base our questions on a sworn affidavit. The more detail, the more we could see the veracity of his statements,”
The credibility of the new witness attributing anomaly to the ZTE-NBN deal must still be put to strict scrutiny since he may just be part of a scheme to undermine the integrity of the Senate proceedings, Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Francis Pangilinan today said.
tags: blue ribbon committee, dante madriaga, first gentleman mike arroyo, manny villar, nbn deal, president gloria arroyo, senator manny villar, senator mar roxas, senator francis pangilinan, zte scandal“Hindi natin maaalis ang posibilidad na pakawala lamang si Mr. Madriaga ng mga tao o grupong nais bahiran ng kasinungalingan ang imbestigasyon ng Senado ukol sa ZTE-NBN deal. The Senate should not let its guard down, we cannot discount the possibility that efforts are underway to undermine the credibility of the proceedings with unreliable witnesses and testimonies,”
