Saturday, February 09, 2008
Witness owns his past sins
MANILA—He admitted “giving away” contracts, ranging from P81,700 to P19 million, without public bidding.
“Mea culpa. I have done things that have made me lose respect for myself. I don’t want to lose my soul,” said resigned Philippine Forestry Corp. chief executive officer Rodolfo Lozada Jr.
But answering a question from Sen. Francis Escudero, Lozada agreed that the NBN project was in the league of the National Basketball Association, while his own mistakes might be compared to an inter-school game.
Lozada described that a 20 percent overprice in a contract as lucrative as the NBN deal was usually acceptable. “It looks like that’s the norm in government,” he said.
Meanwhile, First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo denied receiving a phone call from former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. concerning the broadband deal project.
Finally breaking his silence on the allegations raised against him, Arroyo said he is “concerned” about his continued implication in the cancelled US $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal.
‘Blockbuster’
“There was no phone call from Chairman Abalos concerning the NBN deal. Again, Mr. Lozada himself admits he is unsure if it was me Chairman Abalos called, if that phone call took place to begin with. And, further, Mr. Lozada admits he did not hear the conversation,” the First Gentleman said in a statement released by his office in Makati.
He said he was forced to break his self-imposed silence because of “distorted” news reports on the NBN-ZTE mess.
“I reiterate that I do not meddle in government affairs, be they political or commercial. I deliberately avoid the limelight, and I have suffered all the unfair accusations against me precisely to buttress this policy. I do not interfere with governance,” he said.
While saying that his testimony was “very gripping,” Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said that Lozada should prove his allegations.
“It has all the ingredients of a blockbuster: there is a lot of money, there is a lot of corruption involved. But the problem is he has no evidence to back up all his assertions,” Santiago told reporters after her turn at questioning Lozada.
“To quote a Supreme Court decision, to allege is not to prove,” she said.
However, Sen. Manuel Roxas II commended Lozada for his testimony, which coincided with Constitution Day.
“Today, the truth will set you free. Today, it is difficult to do the right thing. We applaud you for doing the right thing,” he said.
In all, Lozada’s testimony and grilling by the senators lasted seven hours and will resume on Monday. (AFP/Sunnex)
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