Star witness for the ZTE anomalous deal abducted by the Gov't?

[shadow]

what's with this Gov't??? :boo:

UPON ARRIVAL AT NAIA
Gov’t grabbed witness in NBN deal--sources
Lozada met by airport men, whisked off via tarmac
By Dona Pazzibugan, Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:53:00 02/06/2008

• MANILA, Philippines -- A crucial witness to the scandal-tainted National Broadband Network (NBN) deal between the Arroyo administration and China’s ZTE Corp. was seized by airport officials as he returned to Manila Tuesday, airport sources told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

An arresting team sent by the Office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms (OSSA) saw neither hide nor hair of Rodolfo “Jun” Noel Lozada Jr. after airport officials got to him first in an apparent breach of airport security procedures.
According to airport sources, the officials sneaked Lozada, the president and CEO of Philippine Forest Corp., out of the airport as soon as he arrived on business class via Cathay Pacific flight CX-919 at 4:40 p.m.
Lozada, along with former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri, is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the Senate blue ribbon committee.
Sen. Benigno Aquino III, who joined the OSSA team at the airport, said Lozada sent a text message to a brother early Tuesday night saying he was accosted at the airport and taken somewhere “out of town.”
The brother, Arthur Lozada, was with the OSSA team leader who had tried to serve the arrest order on the witness.
“Nag-text daw. Dinukot siya, may kumuha sa kanya at dinala siya out of town na hindi niya alam kung saan. Ipaalam daw sa media,” Aquino told reporters, relating his conversation with Arthur Lozada.
In an interview over radio dzMM, Lozada’s sobbing wife appealed to whoever was holding her husband to release him.
“I just want my husband back. I just want my husband back. Please, ibalik n’yo na ang asawa ko,” said Violet Lozada.
Asked by program hosts Anthony Taberna and Gerry Baja if her husband had told her why he had suddenly come home, she reiterated: “Ibalik nyo na ang asawa ko, ibalik nyo na sa amin.”
Also over dzMM, Lozada’s elder sister Carmen expressed the family’s anxiety: “Now the whole family is worried; I am very worried. Our concern now is, where is Jun, what has happened to him? How come the [Senate] arresting officer did not get him?”
Carmen Lozada said the family would rather have her brother taken by the Senate. She said Lozada called up his family from the airport to say that he was coming home.
“He was frightened for his family,” she told dzMM. “The last time I talked to him, it was like he was leaving his fate to God.”
She also said her brother had insisted on coming home and was not on the run: “Hindi siya tumatakbo. Kaya siya umuwi ... hindi siya pwedeng mag-stay kung saan-saan. Kasi Pilipinas ang bayan niya.”
Ranking officials
Airport insiders reported seeing retired Gen. Angel Atutubo, the airport security chief who is known to be close to the First Family, and Octavio “Bing” Lina, terminal manager of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA-1), with Lozada as he was being taken out of the terminal.
Neither official could be reached starting in the afternoon until early evening Tuesday.
OSSA staff and other Senate security personnel who were sent to take custody of Lozada did not see him among the passengers who took the normal route from the arrival gate through the concourse, past the immigration counters and then on to the baggage conveyors.
They were only granted lobby access to the terminal, a long walk away from the arrival gate.
“The brother said somebody [whom he did not know] picked him up.... They spoke on the phone... Now he can no longer be reached. Pero nakatuntong ng Pilipinas (But he was able to set foot in the country)...” said Fr. Jesus Malit, a family friend who had come to the airport in a “show of moral support” for Lozada.
Said Edwin Lacierda, legal counsel of the civil society group Black and White Movement (BWM) who had gone to the airport to make sure that Lozada was promptly taken into Senate custody: “His wife (Violet) is distraught. The family did not expect this to happen. The arrangement was that he was going to be delivered to the Senate.
“This is obstruction of justice, defying a lawful order from the Senate. If it is proven that he was taken against his will, it could be kidnapping.”
Supreme Court order
As it happened, the OSSA was twice thwarted Tuesday, with the Supreme Court handing down an order stopping Neri’s arrest.
The high court’s status quo ante order directs the Senate to observe the circumstances prevailing before it handed down the arrest warrant on Neri, while the tribunal deliberates on his petition questioning the warrant and seeking to stop the Senate from citing him for contempt for failing to appear at the chamber’s inquiry into the NBN-ZTE deal.
“I consider it a triumph of the rule of law and we have the Supreme Court to thank for it,” Neri said in a text message to the Inquirer.
He said that with the high court’s ruling, he would return to work on Wednesday.
Neri, who headed the National Economic and Development Authority when the NBN-ZTE deal was approved and is now chair of the Commission on Higher Education, filed his petition against the Senate in December.
Last week, he filed a supplemental motion to annul the arrest warrant that the Senate had issued.
Oral arguments on Neri’s petition are scheduled on March 4. The respondent Senate committees have been told to comment on the petition in 10 days.
As for Lozada, Supreme Court spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez said the tribunal’s order did not apply to him.
Only in Hong Kong
Neri and Lozada were ordered arrested by the Senate blue ribbon committee for failing to appear in last week’s hearing, where they were expected to testify on the since scrapped NBN-ZTE deal.
Lozada left the country for a reported official trip to London on Jan. 30, just a few hours before he was to face the Senate. But sources said Lozada only stayed in Hong Kong.
He was known to have counseled NBN-ZTE deal whistle-blower Jose “Joey” de Venecia III in drafting his build-operate-transfer proposal for the NBN project, and was also adviser for Neri, also a vital witness.
Both Neri and Joey de Venecia had implicated President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, and then Commission on Elections Chair Benjamin Abalos in the deal allegedly tainted by bribery and overprice. Both have repeatedly denied the accusations.
Parked on the tarmac
An airline staff member said “somebody assisted” Lozada at the arrival gate but was mum on where he was taken.
According to the report related by the OSSA to Sen. Alan Cayetano, Lozada was met by unknown persons as he emerged from the plane, was taken down through a side exit of the tunnel that connects the plane and the passengers’ arrival area, and was whisked into a vehicle parked right at the tarmac.
Lozada no longer passed through immigration and customs check.
“Don’t tell me they can do that at the airport without a higher-up involved,” Cayetano said after talking to Senate Sergeant at Arms Jose Balajadia over the phone minutes after Lozada’s plane landed.
Cayetano chairs the Senate blue ribbon committee.
Sources said Lozada was first taken from the arrival gate up to the departure area, and then to an elevator that went straight to the airport’s ramp area. A waiting vehicle then took him toward the direction of the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, which has roadways connected to the NAIA.
Minutes before Lozada’s arrival, Lina even exchanged jokes with reporters waiting at the arrival concourse and asked: “Who are you waiting for here?”
Asked whether the OSSA staff would take custody of Lozada as soon as he emerged from the plane, airport operations officers said the arresting team “did not coordinate” with NAIA authorities.
Villar’s appeal
In a statement, Senate President Manuel Villar said he had received a call from Lozada’s wife expressing fears for the witness’ safety and asking for the Senate’s help to make sure that he was out of danger.
“We demand from the [NAIA] and immigration officials a full account of Mr. Lozada’s arrival in the airport where he was reportedly kidnapped,” Villar said, adding:
“If it is true that Lozada is being detained against his will, we urge whoever is keeping [him] to produce him and turn him over to the Senate...”
Reached by phone, BWM executive director Leah Navarro said Lozada was “coming home because he couldn’t take it anymore.”
“We are scared for his life. His wife is freaking out. She is thinking he’s dead. If something bad happens to him, we know who to blame. He couldn’t take it anymore,” Navarro said.
Buying time
Senators earlier said they would respect the Supreme Court’s status quo ante decision.
Cayetano said Neri had just bought himself some time, but that he would eventually be compelled to appear before the Senate.
“We respect and we’ll follow the status quo ante order. We welcome the opportunity to clarify the boundaries between Malacañang and the Senate, but we are confident the long line of decisions of the Supreme Court will be upheld, that the Senate has the power to compel people to testify,” he said. With reports from Leila B. Salaverria, Kristine L. Alave and Christine O. Avendaño

[badsekktor]

well as usual, pandak's tactics at work again. kawawa naman yun pamilya ni lozada.... they can deny everything but the stinch tells everything. too bad nobody has enough evidence to push a strong case....

[boydapa]

grabe talaga ang kakapalan ng mukha ng palace!

this is the most desperate and GARAPAL tactic epmployed by gma and her cohorts just to cover up their stinking piece of ZTE sh$%#T.

yun head nun NAIA na sumundo kapal din ng mukha ideny pa at nagturo pa!
buti nlng may celpon si lozada at nasabi kng sino sumundo sa kanya

ang tindi ng baho ZTE scandal nyo uaalingasaw kahit anung takip nyo nangangamoy!

NERI ka pugante ka! nag aral ka pa naman sa U.P. mahiya ka naman! wala kang pinagkaiba sa mga snatcher sa kalye tago ng tago

[yebo]

we are in a state of undeclared martial law already. the military (i mean the generals who are in malacanang and their boys in active service) and the arroyos are doing whatever they want to do, and there is nothing we can do. even the senate can't do anything. that is why the supreme court, because civil rights and human rights groups are already at a lost, had to give an avenue for them to fight. like the writ of amparo and habeas data. supreme court na lang ang pagasa natin, unless there will be another revolution soon. and next time i hope it will be bloody, because we can not cleanse this rotten system anymore by just people power.

[Honda97]

may update na. gen. razon announced that lozano is in their custody because lozano's brother requested daw for the pnp to fetch him. strangely, his brother was one of those who said that his brother may have been kidnapped. talk about conflicting statements. it looks like another cover up in the making. you can't trust this government!

[HIFI]

Wow! Grabe talaga.

Now I've seen it all. Nakakatakot na talaga ito.

[Syuryuken]

napakabugok talagang gobryernong ito gagawin ang lahat mapagtakpan lang ang mga ginagawang anomalya

[badsekktor]

we are in a state of undeclared martial law already. the military (i mean the generals who are in malacanang and their boys in active service) and the arroyos are doing whatever they want to do, and there is nothing we can do. even the senate can't do anything. that is why the supreme court, because civil rights and human rights groups are already at a lost, had to give an avenue for them to fight. like the writ of amparo and habeas data. supreme court na lang ang pagasa natin, unless there will be another revolution soon. and next time i hope it will be bloody, because we can not cleanse this rotten system anymore by just people power.

so true.......... so true................

[chilli]

Oh well, ganyan talaga ang government natin. If they can try to hide yung mali nila, they would do it talaga. Even kill someone siguro para lang tumahimik at wala ng evidence.

[chilli]

update...

(UPDATE 5) Wife, sister have seen Lozada, brother confirms
Produce Lozada, says Senate
By Juliet Labog-Javellana, Veronica Uy, Thea Alberto
INQUIRER.net, Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 10:16:00 02/06/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- After Philippine National Police Chief Avelino Razon Jr. said that the missing witness in the tainted telecommunications project was with his family, his brother denied the official’s claim.
But Arthur Lozada confirmed that their sister, Carmen, and Lozada’s wife, Violeta, have seen him.
“Wala. Wala sa amin. Kung nasa amin na siya di hindi na kami nag-file ng habeas corpus o amparo [No, he’s not with us. If he were, we would not have filed habeas corpus or amparo],” he said.
Arthur Lozada said he didn’t know how his brother’s wife and his sister saw the environment official.
Razon told INQUIRER.net that Lozada and his family were together, a day after the environment official was allegedly taken by unidentified security men at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after arriving from Hong Kong.
"He's safe and doing well," said Razon, adding that Lozada was in a place where he wanted to stay.
In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Lozada’s sister, Carmen, said she had seen her brother and that he was alive although he had lost weight.
“Ayun, buhay pa siya [He is still alive],” said Lozada’s sister. “Nangayayat siya [He lost weight]” and he appeared “haggard,” she added.
However, she declined to say when and where she had seen her brother but admitted that he was “with the people who took him.”
She also declined to reveal where she was and ended the phone conversation which she said was being listened to.
Earlier on Wednesday, Razon admitted that Lozada, who was to be arrested by the Senate for failing to appear in its inquiry, was under their custody but clarified that they did not hold him and were “in fact securing this person.”
Razon dismissed accusations that they had obstructed justice when they took custody of Lozada, saying that it was the official who wrote to the Police Security and Protection Office and requested for protection.
"There is no obstruction of justice...because the Supreme Court ruling said the arrest order of the Senate will only be good within Senate premises," Razon told reporters.
"Hindi rin ito [This is also not] kidnapping because there was a request. He went with the PNP out of his own free will," said Razon.
But Razon said the PNP would show Lozada whenever necessary, as long as Lozada would allow them to. He added that Lozada would stay under their custody for as long as he wanted.
Razon said they kept mum regarding Lozada's whereabouts for security purposes.
Lozada, president and CEO of Philippine Forest Corp., was set to testify at the ongoing Senate investigation regarding the questionable $329 million national broadband network contract that the government had forged with China’s ZTE Corp.
Meanwhile, senators are up in arms over the alleged abduction of Lozada and Razon’s admission that he was under their custody.
“Why the delay in the admission that they have him? Who authorized SPO4 [Senior Police Officer 4] Valeroso to pick up Lozada at the airport? What is the PNP's authority to arrest him? Why the disrespect to the Senate and the warrant issued? Last, but not least, will Lozada now have a change of heart about testifying?” Senator Panfilo Lacson asked.
Lozada is Lacson's witness. He was allegedly the technical adviser on the NBN project before it was cancelled.
Senate Minority Floor Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. believes that the police chief “might be obstructing justice and abetting defiance rule of law.”
“How can a person who's being arrested by the Senate gets police protection?” Pimentel asked.
Even administration Senator Juan Ponce-Enrile wants the police to turn over Lozada to the Upper Chamber.
Enrile, who had moved for Lozada's arrest at last week's hearing, pointed out that the Senate had a warrant for Lozada's arrest and the police's job was only to escort Lozada to the Senate.
“[Lozada] does not have a criminal case that authorizes them to hold him...If he is being held against his will, without no consent, it's forcible abduction or coercion although he may want to evade Senate arrest,” he said.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the blue ribbon committee, challenged Razon to produce Lozada “kahit hindi sa Senado [even not at the Senate].”
Lozada's wife, Violeta, had sought the help of the Senate in finding her husband.
“He's lying through his teeth,” Cayetano said on Razon’s statement that Lozada was with the PNP.
The senator said the police chief had promised to keep his hands off the Senate inquiry.
“This has a more chilling effect than libel or the hand-cuffing of the media. They are showing that if a high-profile witness can be taken from a secure area in NAIA, they can take anyone,” Cayetano said.
“They are protecting them from who? The government is undertaking a massive propaganda campaign. [Razon] pledged an oath to the Constitution. Where is his loyalty now? The police is acting like a private army,” he said.


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