Carlos: People who broke the law should be sent to jail

The Supreme Court decision upholding the executive privilege invoked by Romulo Neri on three key questions asked of him by senators abruptly put an end to the Senate investigation on allegations of bribery and overpricing that attended the government’s national broadband network project. While many expressed dismay with the way the ruling has impeded the quest for the truth on the NBN deal, not a few also heaved a sigh of relief as the probe, with the way senators had been conducting it, appeared not to be headed for any resolution anytime soon.

But last week, the Senate announced that it might consider resuming hearings after a new witness surfaced to divulge that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo supposedly secretly met with officials of the Chinese firm ZTE Corporation in Shenzhen, China in November 2006, months before it bagged the NBN project. The witness, identified only as “Alex,” even came out with photographs of the President with her husband, the First Gentleman, playing golf at the Shenzhen Golf Club.

In case the investigation continues, what should come out of the hearings in order that we come to an appropriate closure to the NBN fiasco? We solicited the views of some people to put the situation in proper perspective.

ONE key issue that the ZTE probe should focus on is the protocol that should be followed in any contract between two governments, says political science professor Clarita Carlos. This includes equal opportunity to compete for contracts.A liberal democracy means that citizens cannot be apathetic, adds Carlos. She says that people have to pay attention to what’s going on, otherwise the same scandals will happen again in 2010.At the minimum, she says, people who broke the law should go to prison.

Listen to Carlos weigh in on how she thinks the latest scandal to plague the Arroyo administration should be resolved.

Length: 00:05:51
Language: English
File size: 4 MB