MANILA, Philippines – Former National Economic and Development Authority director general Romulo Neri avoided further trial on graft charges over his alleged involvement in the botched $329-million national broadband network deal after the Sandiganbayan dismissed the charges due to the Office of the Ombudsman’s failure to prove the allegations.
The Fifth Division granted Neri’s demurrer to evidence after prosecutors failed to prove the allegations against him following presentation of witnesses and evidence.
“Here, we find the evidence of the prosecution insufficient to sustain the charges or justify a verdict of guilt,” read the ruling.
“The prosecution failed to discharge the burden of proving that accused Neri violated Section 3(h) of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) by proof beyond reasonable doubt for its failure to satisfactorily establish that said accused had financial or pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly, in the subject NBN-ZTE deal.”
The anti-graft court ordered Neri’s bail bond be returned to him and the hold departure order issued against him be lifted and set aside.
Neri was charged for alleged involvement in the anomaly as then head of NEDA, which approved the NBN deal between the government and China’s ZTE Corp.
Accusations hurled against him included being offered a P200-million bribe just to approve the allegedly overpriced contract that was later cancelled by then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Arroyo herself has moved for the dismissal of graft charges against her before the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division through a demurrer to evidence.
Four months ago, the anti-graft court also acquitted former elections chairman Benjamin Abalos in one of the graft cases filed against him stemming from his alleged role in the anomaly.
He was cleared of the allegation that he violated Section 3(h) of RA 3019, which supposedly bars him from “directly or indirectly having financial or pecuniary interest in any business, contract or transaction in connection with which he intervenes or takes part in his official capacity, or in which he is prohibited by the Constitution or by any law from having any interest.”
“All in all, the evidence only proved that accused was brokering the collaboration between AHI (Amsterdam Holdings Inc.) and ZTE, where ZTE would supply equipment to AHI while AHI would contract with the Philippine government for the operation of the NBN,” the anti-graft court said.