GMA challenged: tell First Gentleman to attend congressional inquiries, too

AKBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros said today that GMA's decision to allow Cabinet secretaries to attend the Senate blue ribbon inquiry on the ZTE deal should be taken with a grain of salt.

"Telling them to attend the hearings is not enough. We have to wait for the Cabinet officials' statements under oath before we can judge the sincerity of her action. Furthermore, if she is really serious about being transparent on the deal, she should ask First Gentleman Mike Arroyo to come back, attend the hearings, and clear his name," Rep. Hontiveros said.

Rep. Hontiveros also dared the President to revoke E.O. 464 and MC 108, which have been repeatedly invoked by Cabinet officials to avoid congressional inquiries. "Allow Congress to perform its oversight functions without Malacañang hiding behind excessive legalism," Rep. Hontiveros challenged the President. "Congressional inquiries only become political circuses when the President allows Cabinet members to attend hearings but prevents them from saying anything."

"The explosive testimony of Jose de Venecia III demands nothing less than full disclosure from those who were obviously involved in the deal, including the First Gentleman," Rep. Hontiveros stressed.

She also lashed out at the President for dismissing the issue as a vaudeville act and a tale of conspiracy.

"There is indeed a conspiracy taking place, but it is not coming from within the opposition. What the ZTE deal shows is that the real conspiracy involves hoodlums in government using their power to bag kickbacks from onerous deals," Rep. Hontiveros said, adding that the First Gentleman, COMELEC Chair Abalos and certain Cabinet secretaries should be blamed for the controversy.

The attempt to get into the truth behind the controversial ZTE deal should not be portrayed as an act of economic destabilization. "It is corruption involving public officials that's blocking confidence in the economy. Why would people invest in the country if government officials themselves violate anti-corruption procedures? Instead of hiding behind the smokescreen of excessive legalism and destabilization scare, President GMA should come clean about controversies like the ZTE deal," Rep. Hontiveros said.