Social Security System President Romulo Neri will stay in his post while his appeal before the Office of the Ombudsman over corruption charges filed against him in connection with the graft-tainted NBN-ZTE broadband deal is resolved, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the Palace is not inclined to serve the suspension order against Neri pending his motion for reconsideration of the Ombudsman’s ruling in connection with his involvement in the botched $329 million broadband deal.

Once the Ombudsman’s decision becomes final and executory, Ermita assured that they will abide by its decision.

The Ombudsman earlier recommended the filing of corruption charges against Neri, who was Socio Economic Planning secretary when the alleged irregularities in the broadband contract took place, for undue interest in the deal.

Neri was also slapped a six-month suspension without pay by the anti-graft body for misconduct.

Ermita said Neri’s legal team has informed the Office of the President about its motion for reconsideration that was scheduled to be filed Tuesday.

“They are going to file a motion for reconsideration with the Ombudsman that is supposed, according to them, to stay the order of the Ombudsman temporarily until the after the resolution of the motion of reconsideration,” Ermita told reporters after the launch of the National Peace Consciousness Month at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City.

Neri would also have to fend for himself after Ermita insisted that Malacañang will not intervene with the affairs of the Office of the Ombudsman.

“The Ombudsman is a separate constitutional body. They are following the legal process and we just have to observe and respect the decision of such an independent body.

But again everyone should respect the rule of law as well as legal process that we have,” he said.

Ermita, meantime, defended the group of government executives who skipped the final Senate hearing into the controversial broadband project Tuesday, saying the officials have exhaustively answered the senators’ queries in previous inquiries.

He said Neri, along with officials from the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Transportation and Communications, and Department of Finance, have sent their excuse letters to the Senate blue ribbon committee led by Senator Richard Gordon.

“They have testified long enough and they don’t think there’s anything else that they can give and therefore courteously they extend their letters to the blue ribbon committee the reason why they are not attending today,” he said.

Neri previously told the Senate that former Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. offered him a P200 million bribe supposedly to award the broadband contract to ZTE Corporation of China.

The former director general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) also claimed that he reported Abalos’ bribe attempt to the President, who told him to reject it.

When senators asked him about the President’s instructions regarding the broadband project, Neri invoked executive privilege and refused to talk.