Among the witnesses the prosecution said should be directed to appear on March 23 and 24 are businessman Jose de Venecia III, consultant Dante Madriaga, and lawyers Harry Roque, Oliver Lozano, Roberto Rafael Pulido and Ernesto Francisco.

De Venecia, Roque and former party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros were among the no-shows at the last hearing on January 26.

The absence of the witnesses from the hearing did not go unnoticed by the antigraft court’s justices, who asked the prosecutors where they were.

The prosecutors, led by Irenio Paldeng, told the court that De Venecia was newly married, while Roque was busy with the trial of the Ampatuans in the Maguindanao massacre.

As for Hontiveros, the prosecution said her subpoena was served at the House of Representatives, where she is no longer a member.

Those who did take the witness stand during the January 26 hearing were Securities and Exchange Commission official Sampaguita Ladrido and Director Antonia Barros from the Senate archives.

Ladrido testified on the articles of incorporation of De Venecia’s Amsterdam Holdings Inc., and noted, upon questioning, that its speciality was not broadband. Barros attested to the transcripts of Senate hearings on the NBN deal.

Abalos is charged with violation of the antigraft law and the Revised Penal Code for allegedly taking an interest and intervening in a contract that was not related to his duties as election chief.

De Venecia, a losing bidder in the NBN deal, has accused Abalos of attempting to bribe him so that his firm, Amsterdam Holdings Inc., would stop pursuing its own NBN proposal.

Roque, Lozano, Pulido and Francisco were among those who filed the criminal complaint against Abalos for his role in the broadband deal.

Madriaga, on the other hand, was a consultant of the Chinese firm ZTE Corp. on the NBN deal, and had spoken of the alleged overpricing in the contract.

Leila Salaverria, Phil. Daily Inquirer