BY JP LOPEZ

AFTER issuing a stern warning against ZTE star witness Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. "not to mess around with my wife (Felicitas)," Sen. Joker Arroyo has chosen not to talk about the matter.

"No, I don’t want to talk about it, that is a private matter," Arroyo said.

On Monday, Arroyo accused Lozada of being selective of the people he wanted to talk to.

"It smacks of bad faith... You’re talking to some, but you’re not talking to us. You favor some senators, you don’t favor others. I raise those points because it’s a question of good faith," Arroyo said.

Lozada replied: "Kung sabi ninyo na bad faith na kinausap ko si Senator Lacson, nakausap ko rin ho ang asawa ninyo."

Lozada described how he entered Arroyo’s house in Dasmariñas Village, Makati city.

He said it was a "Tony Abaya" (there are at least three persons of that name including a former congressman, a newspaper columnist, and a media communications expert) who facilitated his meeting with Arroyo’s wife.

But the senator cut off Lozada, saying: "Do not mess around with my wife."

On questioning of Senate President pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Lozada said Arroyo’s wife told him not to speak in the Senate inquiry.

He said the advice failed to help his dilemma then since "nandito naman po ako."

He failed to mention when the meeting took place.

In a radio interview, Abaya, the communications expert, said he was the one who asked Sen. Arroyo’s wife to agree to meet Lozada since he was seeking legal advice. Mrs. Arroyo is better known in the legal profession as an expert in corporate matters.