THE JUN LOZADA WATCH
14 May 2009
In a bizarre twist in the tangled perjury charge filed by defeated administration senatorial candidate Mike Defensor against ZTE-NBN scandal whisteblower Jun Lozada, Judge Lorredo of the Manila MTC Branch 26 is insisting that Malacañang is pressuring him to inhibit from the case. He identified DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzales, whom he called "Lolo Gonzales," as oneof those pressuring him to drop the case.
Even more intriguing is his claim that the situation might lead into a scenario reminiscent of the assasination of the late Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. who was gunned down on August 21, 1983 as he was going down the tarmac of the then Manila International Airport. Ninoy's death would signal the start of the end of the Marcos regime.
Judge Lorredo painted this scenario, "Patayin si Lozada, pak! Patay! Just imagine, he will be another Ninoy. Meron lang sumigaw na 'Punta tayo sa Malacañang, pupunta 'yan eh. Martial law.'"
"Sana nga I'm very wrong with my analysis of the whole thing. Pero pa'no kung tama ako? I will not be able to forgive myself. I will not be able to sleep well," added the now-controversial judge who insisted that he is not going to inhibit from the case in spite of the mounting pressures.
To prevent such an eventuality, Lorredo is hopeful that he could convince Defensor and Lozada to settle their differences amicably. He even made an appeal to Manny Pacquiao to attend the next hearing of the case so he (Pacquiao) could talk to and convince Defensor and Lozada to come to terms regarding the case.
Lozada, meanwhile, is adamant that he just needs to see Defensor face-to-face in court so he could repeat his assertions that the latter tried to bribe him to keep quiet with what he knew about the ZTE-NBN deal. He said that his stint in jail would be in vain if he would settle the case with Defensor.
A week ago, on May 7, Judge Lorredo issued an order granting the release of Jun Lozada on Senate recognizance as a result of a motion backed by a Mar Roxas-authored Resolution that was adopted by the Senate. That story is told in the following articles:
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