In the Senate's august Recto Room, where the inquiry into the controversial ZTE-NBN deal was held, his "captors" along with Gloria Arroyo's political cronies, tried to destroy his credibility, but he stood firmly by his damning testimony last Friday. Actually, it corroborated the expose of businessman Jose "Joey' de Venecia III, son of deposed Speaker Joe de Venecia, linking powerful figures in and out of the Arroyo government in the scandalous mess. And last Monday he affirmed that he was held captive for many hours, taken for a ride around Metro Manila and nearby towns against his "free will" before he was brought to his family who had sought refuge inside the campus of De La Salle in Greenhills, San Juan.

Anyone who has been watching and reading the news coverage, both broadcast and print media, can't help but feel, and believe, that the star witness was telling the unvarnished truth, and not lies as claimed by those responsible for his abduction.

Oh, yes, there were moments of wry humor and wit and laughter, which elated the gallery and even some senators during the marathon inquiry, when Lozada answered probing questions of senators, reputedly friendly to the Arroyos, meant to punch holes in his testimony.

One senator, in one such moment, asked Lozada if he was willing to testify in a criminal trial of those involved in the corruption case. He quickly replied, "Yes, I am already here!" Actually, the exchange was in Filipino. When asked, "Handa ka ba magpakulong?" Lozada quipped, "Sir, ano po ang ibig niyong sabihing, ako ba ang makukulong, o ako ang magpapakulong? Oo! Kaya po ako narito!" The senator smiled to himself when the gallery burst into rollicking laughter.

In another moment, a lady senator tried to impugn Lozada's credibility by waving what seemed to be documents involving him in irregularities. Meekly, he admitted, "There are certain things I did in my life that I would like to change. But whatever respect I have left for myself I want to keep it. I admit, mea culpa." Impressed by his honesty, the senator remarked, referring to Lozada's expose, "the story is very gripping. It has all the ingredients of a blockbuster. There is a lot of money.there is a lot of corruption!"

And last Monday, when still another senator castigated him about supposed inconsistencies and lack of fairness and bias for other senators, Lozada very quickly retorted he never discriminated against any one and then revealed that he was brought to the senator's home where he talked to his lawyer wife.

This startled the senator who angrily told the witness, "You're implicating every Tom, Dick and Harry here! Don't mess around with my wife!"

Lozada quietly said, "What can I do, you brought this up!" And, with misty and crying eyes, he lamented, "A lot of people were talking to me, but I never wanted to be part of this. Mr. Senator, I am an admirer of yours." (Both the senator and the star witness are Bicolanos.) At this point, the senator stopped asking him questions, and then turned to a Cabinet official, one of the "resources" assigned to demolish Lozada's statements.

The next day the three senators admitted they were impressed with Lozada's oral testimony and that from his demeanor he appeared credible, but they pointed out that they have to look at the transcripts and documents to get at the truth.

That's the thinking of lawyers, unlike the public's impression that the witness was disarmingly sincere in telling the truth.

The Senate probe into the anomalous ZTE-NBN deal, earlier scuttled by Gloria after it was first exposed, is not over yet. There will be more public hearings. And, hopefully, there may be other witnesses that may bravely come out in the open and testify, too, just like Lozada, who has survived the flurry of innuendos, the anonymous phone calls, the threats to his life, and the agonizing hours of captivity that struck fear in his heart.

The credibility of Rodolfo Noel Lozada remains firmly intact, despite the frantic attempts of Gloria's political cronies and mouthpieces to discredit his damning testimony. And what other whistleblowers have failed to do, he has succeeded in doing.

This living but reluctant folk hero has lifted the lid of the "Pandora's Box" of lies and untruths, of criminal acts of bribery and plunder, of the most unpopular President and corrupt government in the history of the Philippines.

***

A Valentine's Day story. My grandson Lee-J didn't wait for Valentine's Day to propose to his American girlfriend Tracy. He didn't pop the big question at either the top of the famous Empire State building in New York or at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

How he did it was absolutely imaginative, unforgettable and, yes, spontaneous. He brought Tracy to Manila, oh, some ten thousand miles away from New Jersey, to attend his Lola Asun's 80th birthday party five days ago. It was a lively celebration of dining, singing and dancing.

After the party, when almost all the guests left, Lee-J surprised everyone, his lola, me, aunts and uncles and some few remaining guests, when he pulled a chair, offered it to Tracy, and right there and then dropped to his knees and asked her, "Will you marry me?" She ecstatically whispered in his ears, "Yes!" and then they kissed.

Through so many years, you know, I have heard marriage proposals of all sorts, but this one staged by Lee-J really tugged the heartstrings of everyone around who witnessed that unexpected romantic moment.