Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. on Tuesday pleaded innocent on charges of graft before the Sandiganbayan in connection to the National Broadband Network (NBN) contract with China’s ZTE Corp.

Wearing a gray suit, Abalos entered a not guilty plea before the graft court’s fourth division, chaired by Associate Justice Gregory Ong.

The former elections chief is accused of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) when he allegedly participated in the NBN-ZTE deal and allegedly bribing another state official some P200-million to approve the transaction.

Asked about the allegations lodged against him, Abalos said he is confident that he would be exonerated of the graft charges owing to the prosecution’s weak evidence in the case.

The anti-graft court set the pre-trial conference on Abalos’ graft case on September 6.

Senate whistleblowers Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada and Jose “Joey” de Venecia III, along with some members of the religious sector, attended the arraignment of Abalos.

The two whistleblowers said they will testify in the trial to bare more of Abalos’s alleged involvement in the anomalous contract.

They told newsmen that former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her family should not be excluded in the graft charge.

Earlier, former Social Security System (SSS) president Romulo Neri also pleaded not guilty to graft charges concerning the same case.