By ELLEN TORDESILLAS
MALAYA
MALAYA
‘With the mild slap of “simple misconduct” on Neri while Lozada faces plunder, Gloria Arroyo and her associated must be laughing.’
TWO news items yesterday reminded me of Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada and his meeting with President Aquino in Malacañang last February.
The first news item was about the statement of the lawyer of Jane L. Napoles, who is in the center of the alleged P10 billion pork barrel scam, to file administrative and criminal charges against whistleblower Benhur Luy, formerly Napoles’ personal assistant.
The other news item was the downgrading by the Court of Appeals into “simple misconduct” of the Ombudsman’s ruling finding former BEDA chief Romulo Neri for his role in the aborted $329 million National Broadband Network deal with the Chinese telecommunication firm, ZTE.
Why Jun Lozada?
The two news items illustrate the risks that a whistleblower has to face if he decides to take on big-time operators who have built deep and wide network within the government.
In the NBN/ZTE controversy, second only to the Hello Garci scandal that rocked the Arroyo administration, both Neri and Lozada were privy to the behind-the-scenes machinations that caused the telecommuncations deal to be bloated several times more than its original cost.
Neri’s damning revelations of former Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos (“Sec, may 200 ka dito”) indicated the level of corruption of that deal. Sad to say, Neri decided to stop there.
Taking refuge under the doctrine of “executive privilege” Neri saved Gloria Arroyo.
Neri’s buddy, Jun Lozada, opted to tell what he knew about the deal supporting the testimony of another whistleblower, Joey de Venecia, about the role of Mike Arroyo, husband of Gloria Arroyo, in the deal.
The decision to testify for the government turned Lozada’s life upside down. He was kidnapped upon arrival from Hong Kong and he was charged with plunder by his deputy in the Philippine Forest Corporation. Lozada is out on bail.
He continues to be the star witness in the NBN/ZTE deal which is being tried by the Sandiganbayan, the same court hearing his plunder case.
Last February, Lozada accompanied by three friends and supporters, one of them, crusader Sr Mary John Mananzan, met with the President in Malacañang and they told the President the weird situation where the star witness in the high profile graft case is being prosecuted for plunder in another case.
The President told them that he cannot intervene in the justice proceedings. What he could do, Lozada quoted the President as having said, if he (Lozada) would be convicted, he could commute the sentence or pardon him.
A very much dismayed Mananzan remarked, “What’s going to happen to your anti-corruption campaign? What’s going to happen to the NBN/ZTE case if Jun is convicted?”
Lozada said the President replied that the government is having second thoughts about pursuing the case because anyway no harm has been done to the Filipino people.
With the mild slap of “simple misconduct” on Neri while Lozada faces plunder, Gloria Arroyo and her associated must be laughing.
Yesterday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she wants to put Luy under the Witness Protection Program as she is aware of the danger that he faces. It is hoped that the protection stays until the masterminds of the scam are punished. The country owes these whistleblowers.
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