As Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Commissioner Romulo Neri speaks today at the Senate inquiry on the controversial ZTE deal, members of the militant League of Filipino Students wrote “speak up” on a bulletin board where his picture was posted in UP Diliman in a symbolic gesture of their appeal to the education czar. Neri, who was head of the National Economic Development Authority when the deal was approved, has accused Commission on Elections Benjamin Abalos of bribing him of P200 million pesos in exchange for his support of the deal.

“Neri’s initial testimonies prove that Abalos did broke for the deal, there are more questions surrounding the deal that he can shed light on. However, by invoking executive privilege, he is putting the public in the dark,” said Vencer Crisostomo, national chairperson of the LFS.

Crisostomo explained that of primary interest is President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s role in the deal, and if she had prior knowledge of the irregularities in the deal but still allowed it to push through, even witness the signing of the contract in Hong Kong.

“Probably, it is out of fear of earning the of Malacanañang that Neri has chosen to remain silent on the President’s role. But we remind Neri that by doing so, he is earning the ire of the people. Though it is Mrs. Arroyo that has given him an office in government, it is to the people that Neri is accountable in the end,” said the youth leader.

Meanwhile, the LFS leader also urged investigations on the deal to continue despite the President’s decision yesterday to terminate the contract in her visit to China.

“Ending the contract does not end our desire for the truth to come out on the deal. If the irregularities on the deal did not surface like it did, the country would have spent 329 million dollars worth of taxpayer’s money on something that has questionable necessity and a portion of this money would probably go to private pockets and bank accounts,” said Crisostomo.

“This is why we want the investigations to continue even if the contract has been terminated. We do not want our government to continue going into shady deals and fooling the public. We want those who may have benefitted from the deal to be punished and persecuted,” said Crisostomo. #