Jose de Venecia III testifies on NBN-ZTE bribery at Senate

Jose "Joey" de Venecia III, chairman of Amsterdam Holdings Inc., testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee in September 2007 about his company's competing NBN proposal and an alleged attempt by Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos to dissuade his participation with an offer he described as a bribe. De Venecia named senior officials of the Arroyo administration and described a meeting at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club at which the alleged offer was made. His testimony, together with subsequent testimony by Rodolfo Lozada in February 2008, became the principal basis for the Senate's investigation and report on the cancelled ZTE contract. Abalos resigned as Comelec chairman in October 2007 amid the controversy. The NBN-ZTE contract was cancelled by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the same month. Sandiganbayan proceedings tied to the NBN-ZTE matter continued in various forms over subsequent years.