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Monday, March 17, 2008
Lozada hits Church for canceling mass for truth (3:43 p.m.)
CEBU CITY -- Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. hit the Catholic Church for canceling the Mass for Truth scheduled Monday night at the Birhen sa Regla in Lapu-Lapu City.
"Hindi ko alam, meron palang Archdiocese of Malacaņang dito," Lozada quipped. (I didn't know there was an Archdiocese of Malacaņang here,)
Sought for comment on the withdrawal of the Church's support for his cause due to his questionable campus tour, he reiterated his stand of not wanting to be a party to corruption anymore.
He said he instead is choosing what is right, which is to reveal the truth about the government through a campus tour, among other means.
In Monday's forum that ended around noon, he shared with students of the University of San Carlos the three lessons he learned from the controversial National Broadband Network deal. These are:
* To help others tell the truth.
* To not tolerate corruption.
* To not to be part of corruption by choosing to expose the truth.
Lozada called on the youth to remain vigilant and relentless in the fight against corruption not only in government but wherever they may find themselves.
"Corruption has robbed us of the hope for a better life. Let us not stop in our quest for the truth," he said.
The forum "Stand Up for the Truth, Be the Change You want to see," was organized by the USC Sociology-Anthropology Department in coordination with the USC Political Science department, National Union of People's Lawyers, and other youth groups of the city.
Earlier this month, the Cebu Provincial Board passed on mass motion a resolution expressing its stand that the "search for truth" on the controversial NBN-ZTE deal be made through legal and constitutional avenues.
Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama also said the Cebuanos do not need Lozada to come here to tell them what the truth is because they are already aware that corruption is rampant in government and that they should be behind the truth and not a person.
But Lozada's legal counsel, lawyer Neri Colmenares, said they've tried legal avenues but these are not always effective. He cited the case of Lozada's wife who was charged with perjury by the Department of Justice when she filed a writ of amparo.
Colmenares further said he is convinced that the case is now beyond the NBN-ZTE deal but has come to point that there is already a breakdown in the rule of the law.
He said something has gone wrong, citing the Ombudsman's non-action on Commission on Higher Education (Ched) chairman Romulo Neri's public admission that Commission on Elections (Comelec) Benjamin Abalos Sr. offered him (Neri) P200 million to endorse the NBN-ZTE deal.
He also said it is hard to file a case against the President because she is immune from suits.
The lawyer reiterated that Lozada is willing to face any case unlike the President and other officials in the government. (Sunnex) |
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