By Prensa Latina
Manila : The Filipino government decided to open a preliminary investigation Thursday into a corruption scandal in which entrepreneur Jose Miguel Arroyo, husband of President Gloria Macapagal, appears involved.
Information Minister Ignacio Bunye said that President Macapagal ordered the Department of Justice to make a prior investigation to determine any illegal procedures relating to the ZTE Project.
Witness Rodolfo Lozada testified to the Senate today that Arroyo and Benjamin Abalos, former director of the Electoral Commission, inflated a 329.4 million dollar contract between the government and ZTE Corporation.
Lozada s accusations confirm those by entrepreneur Jose de Venecia, leader of the Lakas Party and House speaker during five legislatures, who was competing for the same contract.
Venecia also accused Macapagal of attempted fraud in the 2004 elections, and embezzlement, charges he said he will reveal at the appropriate time.