Thursday, March 06, 2008 Espinoza: Lozada not needed in Cebu By Elias L. Espinoza Free Zone
I EXPECT a reproach from supporters and followers of Senate witness Rodolfo Lozada Jr. regarding this article. I understand their sentiments.
But I think the plan to send Lozada to Cebu and probably make him talk in rallies here is not appropriate because, as a witness in the Senate inquiry on the aborted national broadband network (NBN) deal with China’s ZTE Corp., his testimony has become like the property of the Senate.
On the other hand, identifying Lozada as a Senate witness is a misnomer. He should be called a resource person because nobody is an accused in the Senate investigation, whose proceedings are purely in aid of legislation. It cannot even indict anyone of wrongdoing.
I am therefore with Cebu City Vice Mayor Mike Rama, who said that Lozada is not needed in Cebu. We have seen and heard him testify in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee and weep before flashing cameras.
What more will Lozada tell the Cebuanos or cry for? His is not a popularity crusade. The 2010 elections are still more than two years away. Besides, whatever he says outside the Senate is no longer privileged.
While the public has the right to know the truth (or the lies) about the issue, Lozada does not have to go around the country to do it. The appropriate thing for him to do is file cases against those who can be held criminally liable.
Lozada talking in public, like in a political rally, about what he knows regarding the NBN-ZTE deal will only reduce the valuable information he has into rumor. Allegation is not synonymous with guilt. Government agencies tasked to file and prosecute cases are the appropriate venues for this.
The opposition can always say that government departments are under the executive so filing cases therein would be futile. That may be true, but with the mounting protest actions against President Arroyo, I think these departments will do their work.
But if the intention of parading Lozada like a superstar in every city is part of a demolition job, then the opposition, which is behind him, has attained its purpose.
Still, people behind Lozada should be circumspect. The guy is not a commodity that they can just bring anywhere to get support for their cause and to make the people hate the Arroyo administration.
Lozada’s courage may be exceptional, but many people do not consider him a hero, a tag he got from his supporters. He has reasons for doing what he is doing now and the people deserve to know these.
Let’s not overlook the fact that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is an elected president, although many consider her election questionable because of the “Hello Garci” scandal. But unseating her through extralegal means will only be a repeat of Erap’s case.
Launching extralegal actions will then become part of a vicious cycle where presidents are unseated and replaced with a new set of officials that will again be coerced to step down.
It is about time we treat this malady. As they say, we are a government of laws and not of men. Let due process take its course. The Senate inquiry should be completed and committee recommendations should be acted upon by the appropriate government agencies.
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Thought for the day: “A smart person believes only half of what he hears but a truly smart person knows which half to believe.”
