$329.48-million ZTE NBN deal (2007)

Summary:

On September 11, 2007, Ping Lacson detailed in a privilege speech how the government made a turnaround in implementing a national broadband network (NBN) project, from a build-operate-transfer (BOT) setup to a negotiated deal with China's ZTE Corp.  The hearings triggered by the privilege speech showed the cost of the project was bloated threefold mainly because of "tong-pats" (bribes) paid to powerful personalities close to Malacañang.  Lacson cited information reaching him indicating that almost $200 million in bribes changed hands, including $55 million for a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official, $75 million for a "Big One and a Little One," and $68 million for "election expenses."

Effect:

The resulting emergence of witness Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. sparked a new wave of vigilance, especially among the religious and youth sectors who rallied to help secure Lozada from powerful personalities trying to silence him.  However, the most immediate effect of the expose, which prompted the government to scrap the deal, was saving Filipino taxpayers some P16 billion in potential loans that would have financed the deal.