The affair was to welcome the new faces in the embassy public affairs section namely Martha Buckley, cultural attaché; Rebecca Thompson, press attaché, and Karen Schinerer, deputy press attaché.

I asked Neri, former director general of National Economic and Development Authority and now chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, about the notes of his friend Rodolfo Noel "Jun" Lozada written October last year on "What is Neri afraid to say and why?" after his Senate testimony last year where he clammed up when the involvement of Gloria Arroyo in the $329 million telecommunications contract was asked. I carried Lozada’s notes in my column last Monday.

Neri said he hasn’t read the article by Lozada. I recalled for him the contents of the article especially this portion: "What is Neri afraid to tell the public? He is afraid to tell the public that after he reported the Abalos P200 million peso bribe offer, Arroyo casually told him to ignore it and work for its recommendation for approval anyway. That when he protested that it is too controversial and may attract the wrong kind of attention from media, Arroyo retorted back ‘Pakulo lang ni Joey yan and his father.’

"When he tried to reason that it may not be accommodated in the Chinese ODA package because it has been filled up with a list of projects already, Arroyo again ordered him to remove the low cost housing project and some water project to accommodate the ZTE-NBN deal in the ODA loan.

"That when he attempted to reason that it may not be approved in time for the Boao Forum which was only two days to go from that fateful April day, Arroyo with raised voice told him to include the ZTE-NBN project in the agenda of the following day’s meeting of a combined NEDA Board and Cabinet Committee, who as expected promptly approved the project paving the way for the contract signing between ZTE and DOTC in China the next day."

I also recalled to him this part: "Neri is afraid to tell the public that this conversation took place between him and Arroyo because it might spark another impeachment complaint against Arroyo. He is afraid that another impeachment will simply result to more expenses of public funds similar to the Hyatt 10 impeachment crisis, because as DBM secretary who replaced Boncodin, he was entrusted with the large scale DBM payola operation of Arroyo to Congressmen, Senators and Governors not quite similar to the crude Panlilio incident that the public is witnessing now. He is afraid with a more partisan Andaya at the helm of DBM, more public funds will be spent to buy the silence and favor of these greedy legislators and local executives."

Neri simply said, "Why are they speaking for me? Why are they putting words in my mouth?"

I told him that Lozada, who has resigned as president of Philippine Forest Corporation, has said that he feels "liberated" after he decided to come out with the whole truth about what he knows about the NBN/ZTE deal. I asked, "Do you also feel liberated?"

Neri replied, "I feel liberated from the Senate sergeant-at-arms," referring to the Supreme Court’s granting of a temporary restraining order to the Senate to execute its warrant of arrest to compel him to appear again in the Blue Ribbon committee investigating the anomalous telecom contract with a Chinese firm.

I asked Neri about Tom Eisaguirre and Roger Estrella who were mentioned by Sen. Jamby Madrigal in the Feb. 8 hearing. Madrigal asked Lozada if his relationship with Neri was the same as that of Eisaguirre and Estrella. Lozada replied, "My relationship with Romy is professional."

Tom was also the subject of my Feb. 4 column after I got reports that the reason why Neri is vulnerable to Malacañang pressure is because they have documents about alleged involvement of Tom in some projects that passed through NEDA.

Neri’s reply was, "They have nothing to do with the ZTE project."

I asked him about Malacañang using information gathered about Tom to pressure him from telling the Senate all that he knows about the NBN/ZTE deal. He denied there is any pressure.

I did not press him further because I sensed that he was becoming very uncomfortable about our conversation. I was not able to ask him about the opposition of the Organization of NEDA Employees (ONE) to his request to renew the contracts of five consultants to NEDA, one of whom is Tomas Eisaguirre.

In a letter dated Dec. 28, 2007, Neri, who was transferred to CHED August 2007, wrote NEDA director general Augusto Santos "requesting renewal of contracts of … consultants assigned in the office of NEDA director-general" namely Atty. Paul Lantanas, Atty. Herald A. Decayo, Jr., Engr. Arsenio Mesiona, Mr. Tomas Eisaguirre, and Mr. Antonio S. Manalo.

Aside from the consultants, Neri also asked f or the extension of the detail of four NEDA employees to his office at CHED namely Lourdes Reyes, executive assistant; Felino I. Torsar, administrative aide VI; Antonio F. Enriquez, administrative aide III; and Antonio L. Alvarado, close-in-security.

Sources at NEDA said some of those consultants, who are getting at least P20,000 a month, are not qualified. An example, they said, is Eisaguirre who is a high school graduate and is known to them as Neri’s driver and companion but is given the position of "technical consultant."

NEDA sources said the hiring of unqualified consultants is causing demoralization among employees. The recommendation of NEDA One is "to discontinue the hiring of these consultants and that all NEDA resources assigned at CHED be rightfully returned."

NEDA sources said despite ONE’s opposition, Neri’s request will likely be approved. The pressure is too strong, they said.