Rodolfo Jun Lozada Participation With ZTE-NBN Deal

Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada Jr. has seen enough. At least from what he knows and how he has known former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr., whom he accused of brokering the scrapped national broadband network (NBN) project."Pag gumano'n-gano'n siya sa labas, noong nakikita ko noong naghi-hearing? Naiiyak-iyak s'ya? Ay, ser, wala na sa akin 'yan, bumenta na sa akin iyan," Lozada told ABS-CBN News chief correspondent Korina Sanchez in an interview aired on ANC Sunday.(When he cries out there, when I saw him during the [Senate] hearings? That he was crying? Aw, sir, it no longer means anything to me. I've seen and bought it already and it turned out fake.)Abalos faced senators during the NBN hearing last year and denied that he was involved in the project. He also dismissed accusations that he tried to bribe former socioeconomic planning secretary Romulo Neri to approve the deal.Lozada said that he no longer believes it when Abalos sheds tears while vehemently denying accusations of irregularity in the project that was initially priced at $262 million but eventually ballooned to $329 million when approved by President Arroyo.Lozada, who was hired as a consultant in the scrapped NBN project, earlier accused Abalos of brokering the deal for ZTE Corp. for a $130-million commission.'May pusong Pinoy'During the interview, Lozada related a story regarding his experience in dealing with Abalos.Lozada said he was in a meeting with Abalos and ZTE representatives Fan Yan and Yu Yong when disagreed with the project's terms."Sabi ko ‘sir, hindi talaga uubra ito. Sa ganitong klaseng project, sobrang laki nito. (I told him, ‘sir, this won’t work. This is just too big),’" said Lozada.The consultant said Abalos then turned to the Chinese representatives and said, " 'You know what you're asking? Did you hear that? What you're asking me to do is to steal from my country... I cannot rob my people.' "Lozada said he was touched by the gesture because he remembered Abalos saying this with tears streaming from his eyes."I was so so touched by his gesture I cannot wait to get out of the room and call [then socioeconomic planning chief Romulo [Neri]. Sabi ko Rom, hanep pala itong si chairman Abalos...mukhang may pusong Pilipino."(I said, Rom, chairman Abalos is one of a kind....it seems like in spite of it all, it seems like he still has the heart of a Filipino).Lozada, however, said things went from bad to worse during the following weeks."After a few weeks, he was threatening to kill me already, so I don't buy that anymore," he said.Asked about the libel and perjury cases Abalos is preparing against him, Lozada said: "I guess that's the price I have to pay."Lawyer hits Lozada, Joey de VeneciaA lawyer for Abalos, meanwhile, said the accusations of Lozada and businessman Jose "Joey" de Venecia against his client have an ultimate goal: to oust President Arroyo.In a press briefing Sunday, Salvador Panelo both de Venecia and Lozada have been trying to linking First Gentleman Jose "Mike" Arroyo to the scrapped NBN-ZTE deal in order to destroy the Chief Executive.He added that de Venecia has a motive because he did not get the multi-million dollar contract."Nagalit siya kay Chairman Abalos dahil 'di n'ya nakuha yung kontratang 'yun ( He got mad at Chairman Abalos because he failed to get that contract)," Panelo said, calling the businessman a "sore loser."He also alleged that de Venecia’s former company had incurred a $10-million bad debt from ZTE.De Venecia’s other motivation could be the ouster of his father, Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr., as House speaker, Panelo added."Yung motivation kung ipapasok mo 'yung tatay nya, dun sa kaso , ili-link mo si First Gentleman. I-link mo si First Gentleman, ang tutumbukin mo 'yung asawa. Kapag tinumbok mo yung asawa eh malaking isyu 'yun para sa kanila. Ibig nilang ibagsak ang gobyerno ni Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. That’s the entire motivation," Panelo said.(The motivation, if you involve the father in the case, is to link the First Gentleman, and if you link the First Gentleman, you will be linking the wife. If you link the wife then that’s a big issue for them. They want to bring down the government of Gloria Arroyo).Abalos, for his part, said there is an obvious conspiracy in the testimonies of Lozada and de Venecia on the NBN deal inquiry."Kitang kitang gustong isabit si FG (It is apparent that they want to link FG)," he said.