Iloilo Views | The agony of Jun Lozada

The agony of Jun Lozada

Posted on May 9th, 2009

THE agony of Jun Lozada continues as he went to jail on the perjury charges leveled against him by former chief of staff of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (PGMA) Michael “Mike” Defensor. The charges stemmed from Lozada’s testimony during the Senate hearings on the ZTE-NBN scam where he said Defensor tried to persuade him to deny he was kidnapped when he returned to the country at the height of the controversy and lie about his knowledge on the irregularity.

In November, 2008, the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court dismissed Defensor’s complaint but the decision last March was reversed by the Manila Regional Trial Court. The regional court ordered Lozada’s arrest. The perjury case is just one of the 16 cases filed by the administration and its various elks against Lozada and his family. The cases ranged from perjury to theft to dishonesty.

ZTE-NBN scandal is forever itched in the memory of the Filipino people as one of the hallmarks of corruption in the Arroyo regime and will always remain the symbol of its greediness. Thanks to Jun Lozada, the enormity of the scam was exposed and came to the awareness of the nation.

The administration planned to build a national broadband project to connect all government offices. If realized the project will facilitate faster communication among government agencies and offices nationwide and provide easy access to government records and documents for the people. Originally the project was conceived as a BOT – build-operate-transfer, but was later transformed into a loan from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with its state-owned company ZTE as the builder and supplier.

Hitler’s Hidden City dvdrip Through Jun Lozada’s testimony, the public came to know that the loan was bloated from the real price of $262 million to $329 million. The excess $130 million or “bukol” as Jun labeled it was the commission and kickback to be shared among officials and private individuals involved in the project. The loan of course will be paid by the Filipino people.

Corroborating Lozada’s testimony, former NEDA chief Romulo Neri in a sworn statement during the Senate hearing on the scam and in front of national television accused then Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos of bribery attempt in a now immortalized line, “Sec, may 200 ka dito.” In later clarification, Neri said the 200 is Php 200 million, offered by Abalos for him to approve the project as then NEDA director.

Gasp, disbelief and anger greeted the revelation as Filipinos were outraged at the scale of theft and corruption in the highest level of power. This forced PGMA to cancel the project after her husband, the First Gentleman, Miguel Arroyo was dragged into the scam as one of Abalos’ cohorts to rob the Filipinos.

The exact role of the President on the aborted grand thievery will not be known as of the moment for Neri refused to reveal his conversation with her when he reported Abalos’ bribery attempt. Invoking executive privilege and sustained by a Supreme Court ruling, what PGMA said or did upon knowing the scam is for now withheld from the people.

But in a supreme twist of irony, none of those who were implicated in the scandal were charged or arrested. Instead, it was whistle blower Jun Lozada who went to jail. The Ombudsman, Merceditas Gutierez said her office is still wrapping up the investigation. Neri was named Social Security System (SSS) administrator and Abalos is enjoying his retirement, presumably with “hot” and young sexy girls. This is classic PGMA.

Under PGMA’s leadership, the concept of right and wrong, good and bad are distorted, the lines are blurred. Those accused of committing high crimes are rewarded with juicy government posts or political goodies and those who had the courage to stand up against wrong doings and exposed graft and corruption are harassed, punished and made to bear untold sufferings. This is the President’s solid and undisputable legacy.

If this kind of leadership remains and continues to rein over the Philippines this nation is headed for doom. This brand of leadership is the root cause of national malaise and moral decay, slowly destroying the soul of the nation.

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It is not surprising that national surveys upon surveys reveal the Arroyo regime is the most despised administration in the history of the country and PGMA is perceived by a high majority of Filipinos as the most corrupt president Philippines ever had. Such distinct dishonor would not have been bestowed upon Arroyo regime had not Jun Lozada, Acsa Ramirez among others did a quite heroic act of exposing its misdeeds. Like Lozada, Ramirez was also charged and ordered arrested

The woes of Jun Lozada and his family simply reflect the fate of the country and that of the Filipino people under PGMA’s rule. But, history has not yet ended. Hope remains that good will eventually triumph over evil.

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One Response to “The agony of Jun Lozada”

1
Wilfredo Ariscon
May 11th, 2009 10:26

The agony of Jun Lozada, Jlo, Trillanes and others is the agony of the Filipino people which seemingly will not end with these shameless attempts of the sinungaling and illegitimate Glorious Dwarf and Mike Pidal with their minions of crooks, mad killers and thieves to tamper with the Constitution and stay in power beyond 2010. Paano na tayo? Ang susunod na henerasyon…? Eh, ngayon pa lang ay halos wala nang natitira dahil sa walang humpay na kangangatngat sa kabang bayan ng mga anay na ito.

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