Thursday, March 20, 2008 Lozada visit organizers insist they felt effects of ban order
ORGANIZERS of the Cebu visit of Senate witness Rodolfo Lozada Jr. last Monday appealed to the public not to dwell on “trivial things” and lose focus on the purpose of his visit.
Professor Judy Aguilar of the University of San Carlos (USC) Department of Sociology and Anthropology said Lozada was invited so that “we will hear the truth from him, which is the corruption going on in the government and what the people are doing to arrest corruption.”
“What is coming out (in the media) is no longer focused on this. What came out are the ethnic slurs regarding the mass that pushed through. Let us redirect the issue here and not dwell on trivial things based on what is coming out (in the media),” she said.
Lawyer Poch Cinco of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) added that Lozada was invited so that the Cebuanos will be “afforded the opportunity to see him personally, raise questions personally, and give local media the chance to interact with this particular witness.”
“It is not one of the purposes that the issue will be diverted from the issue of the national broadband network graft and corruption to more trivial things like this so-called slurring of the Cebuanos and the appealing to the regionalistic attitude of the province. (It’s) very unfortunate,” he said.
Both Cinco and Aguilar were referring to the call by Cebu leaders and a priest for Lozada to apologize for the attack on Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and his priests.
During the forum at USC gym last Monday, Lozada spoke of “spiritual harassment” and the “Archdiocese of the Malacañang” after he learned that a mass for him was cancelled because they could not get a priest to celebrate it.
Aguilar explained that a thanksgiving mass was really part of the plan for Lozada’s visit as the witness’ way of expressing his gratitude that he was able to share his experiences with the Cebuanos.
She said they asked a priest to hold mass but the same priest told one of their organizers “in confidence” that he would back out.
Privacy
While Aguilar did not elaborate on the reasons for backing out or identify the priest, she said that Vidal’s secretary, Fr. Mhar Balili, called her to ask for the name of the priest.
“I told him to respect our right to privacy and confidentiality. I told him na mura naman ni og witch-hunting. And I was really harassed. Before he talked with me, he also talked with Sister Estrella Castalone, one of the nuns who was part of (Lozada’s) entourage.”
“Sister told him that if it is true there is no order from the Cardinal, give us a priest to hold a mass. He said, ‘You are demanding from us.’ But Sister said that we are not demanding from you, we are asking for a priest,” she said.
“Ang gidaganan ni Lozada ron is the Church. Why were we not given a priest out of 300 or more priests in Cebu?” said Aguilar.
She said the call was made around 3 p.m. last Monday.
Sun.Star Cebu contacted Balili for his side but he sent a text message saying he will not comment on it so as not to complicate the situation.
Felt
Aguilar also explained that a mass was never requested to be held at USC because “at the onset, we really decided to just have a forum at the university.”
A mass, celebrated by Catholic priests Fr. Christopher Exsala and Fr. Jesus Dumaual, pushed through Monday night. It was held at the convent chapel of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Spirit in Mabolo, Cebu City.
Cinco said the organizers agreed with Castalone, who said that they really don’t know if there was a direct order from Cardinal Vidal not to officiate masses for Lozada but they “felt the effects” even during the preparation for the visit.
“Basing my observation on the media, Cardinal Vidal reportedly said that he won’t invite Lozada and that he is not needed for us to know the truth. This probably has an effect on the clergy because this can be taken as a policy statement, spoken by Cardinal Vidal himself,” he said.
He also cited the meeting of the prelate with the First Couple at Wack-Wack, Mandaluyong and the presence of Presidential Management Staff Director General Cerge Remonde in the recollection of priests early this month as other factors that led to the situation.
Defense
For lawyer Rex Fernandez, one of the legal counsels of Lozada, the call for apology is a “stupid” move by government officials because they are not the ones attacked.
“Also, it is for Lozada to decide whatsoever if Cardinal will ask for an apology but that remains speculative. The government officials are not in the position to say about the goodness of a person. Lozada has accepted that he is a sinner but he told the truth. So let these persons desist being spokespersons of the Church when they are not,” said Fernandez.
Among others, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has said she hoped that Lozada will realize his statement was a slur, and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has said he considered Lozada’s statements as a “natural reflection of the attitude of the people of Manila to the Cebuanos.”
USC invited Lozada to Cebu. The expenses for his trip were shared by organizing groups, including USC political science and sociology-anthropology departments, Youth-serving Organization United for Truth, NUPL, and the Community Empowerment Resource Network. (NRC)
