MANILA—The Philippine Supreme Court gave senators 24 hours on Tuesday to accept a deal that would see a top government official resume testimony in a Senate probe into suspected corruption that has rocked the government.
As part of the deal Romulo Neri, a former economic planning chief, could continue to decline to answer questions seeking to link President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to alleged kickbacks in a $329 million government telecoms contract with China's ZTE Corp.
Senators would be able to petition the Supreme Court to rule on whether Neri's use of executive privilege to keep his conversations with Arroyo confidential was correct.
Senators have already asked the Supreme Court to lift the executive order but oral arguments on the case only started on Tuesday and a decision is not expected this month.
Agreeing to the compromise could see Neri, who was moved to an education post last year, being questioned as to how the telecoms deal was done.
It would also take some heat off Arroyo, who has come under pressure from the powerful Catholic Church and former government officials, to lift restrictions on information about the deal.
"We have all agreed to consult our colleagues," Senator Manuel Roxas told reporters.
Neri's lawyer Antonio Bautista said his client was willing to appear before the Senate again, so long as questions where he earlier invoked executive privilege were not repeated.
Oppositions groups, some bishops and students have been calling for Arroyo to resign over the scandal. They say she is covering up for officials and her husband, who has been linked to the controversy. She has denied any wrongdoing.
Protests
Last week, tens of thousands of people gathered in Manila's financial district calling for Arroyo to step down, the biggest crowd since 2005 when about 40,000 protested against her amid allegations she cheated in the 2004 election. Further rallies are planned.
Earlier on Tuesday, about 60 former state officials called on Arroyo to allow Neri to resume his testimony and to suspend two Cabinet members, the head of the national police and four others over accusations they tried to stop another witness testifying.
"The president must demonstrate her commitment to the truth through these actions within one week ... or the people will make their judgment and act on the basis of their conviction," read a statement signed by the ex-officials, including former central bank governor Jose Cuisia and four former finance chiefs.
Their statement came on the same day as Arroyo's husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, formally denied wrongdoing at an inquiry into the deal by the anti-graft Ombudsman.
Arroyo's husband and his golfing buddy Benjamin Abalos, who was forced to resign as head of the elections commission, are among those accused of asking $130 million from ZTE Corp to secure the telecoms deal.
Abalos was also accused of offering a 200 million pesos bribe to Neri to facilitate the deal, which Neri had affirmed during his testimony in a Senate inquiry last year.
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