ABS-CBN reporter Willard Cheng with Ma Jisheng of the Chinese Ministry on Foreign Affairs

China calls President Arroyo as 'embodiment of the Filipino female'

BEIJING, China —The botched ZTE broadband project that turned into a major corruption scandal in the Philippines and an international embarrassment for the Arroyo administration is viewed as a “small problem” in China.

Asked by ABS-CBN News how the ZTE broadband scandal affected trade ties between China and the Philippines, an official of the Chinese Ministry on Foreign Affairs said it hardly rocked Chinese investors' confidence on the Philippines.

“In developing trade, it’s natural to have various problems but the overall trade ties will not be affected and undermined by these small technical problems,” Ma Jisheng, deputy director general of the Information Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs told selected Filipino journalists visiting here in Beijing.

But the ZTE broadband scandal continues to hound the Arroyo administration because even if two of its key players have been recommended charged by the Ombudsman, critics doubt if the buck indeed stopped with them.

The Ombudsman recommended that charges be filed against former National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) director-general Romulo Neri and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos for their conduct over the alleged P200 million bribe that would supposedly ensure the approval of the project that will build a broadband network among all government offices in the Philippines.

The Ombudsman exonerated President Arroyo and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, who reportedly intervened on behalf of ZTE.

The project is also said to be overpriced by $130 million or P6 billion.  

The Ombudsman’s decision was the latest twist in the ZTE drama that saw a son of former speaker Jose De Venecia testifying against the First Gentleman. This led to the dramatic breakup of the De Venecia and President Arroyo’s alliance. A public official has also since become a whistleblower, seeking sanctuary and protection from the clergy.

The Chinese state-owned telecommunications company ZTE beat Joey De Venecia’s Amsterdam Holdings in the bidding.

But if Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Ma is to be believed, all the high drama hardly caused a ripple in the trade relations between China and the Philippines.  

The Chinese government has only good words for President Arroyo even if her husband has been accused of profiting from the cancelled project. Ma described Mrs. Arroyo as the “embodiment of the female in the Philippines."

“President Arroyo is an embodiment of the female in the Philippines,” Ma said in Chinese. “She has done a lot of work for the Filipino people: in poverty reduction, overcoming the financial crisis and improving the lives of the people.”

Ma said the interests of the Philippines and China demand that the two countries deepen and develop their trade relations in spite of “small problems” that may come along. “If this greater demand does not change, then smaller problems are not in the position to affect the trade ties,” Ma said in Chinese.

“Trade ties are determined by the demand and supply and it is not determined by the small problems as you mentioned,” Ma continued. “China needs to have trade with the Philippines and vice-versa. This is the greater demand which will not be affected by the small problems because developing trade relations serve the interest if the two countries and common aspiration of the two peoples.

Ma credits President Arroyo’s “deep personal friendship” with the current Chinese leadership that will ensure a stronger trade and bilateral ties between the two countries, wherever the ZTE story may lead to.