Sunday, February 24, 2008 Lawyers open to shell out money for Lozada
LAWYERS in Cebu are willing to chip in for whistleblower Rodolfo Lozada Jr.
Atty. Briccio Boholst, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu City chapter, said that in Cebu, lawyers are willing to shell out money because they believe in the expose of Lozada regarding the government’s national broadband network deal with China’s ZTE Corp.
The lawyer said this after assessing the possibility that Lozada may be dragged to court over his accounts of alleged bribery in the deal.
Boholst likened Lozada to another whistleblower, Cebuano Bernard Liu.
“Paita aning gobyernoha, kita may iduot (For exposing anomalies we end up getting between a rock and a hard place),” Boholst quoted Liu, his client, as saying.
Liu was a witness against two Cebu businessmen in a House committee investigation on drug trafficking.
Belief in the system
But he himself was charged with drug trafficking, using his admissions of participating in the importation of illegal drugs during the inquiry.
Boholst still believes in the justice system though and hopes that in the end, everything will work out for Lozada and Liu.
The support for Lozada is more than just financial.
“We support him in a way that encourages him to speak out,” Boholst said in a forum, but clarified that the group does not want another People Power.
“We don’t want another Edsa, we don’t want to go back to the streets,” he said.
The IBP formalized its support through resolutions.
There is fear though that Lozada may not be enough to expose corruption in the government regarding the broadband deal.
“The credibility of Lozada is good enough, but there is no clear evidence that could stand in court,” said Boholst.
Forum guest
“I don’t think any more witnesses will be enough. There is a need for documentary and corroborative evidence,” he said.
Boholst was a guest in a forum on “Moderating the Greed” at the University of San Carlos with businessman Guillermo Luz, former executive director of the Makati Business Club.
Like Boholst, Luz believes the government should be compelled to release documents about the deal and to allow certain officials to talk about it. (JGA)
