BY REGINA BENGCO
DEPUTY Executive Secretary Manuel Gaite
yesterday accused ZTE star witness Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. of
deception to make it appear that Malacańang was preventing him
from testifying in the Senate’s ZTE-NBN probe.
Gaite, in a statement, said he gave P500,000
to Lozada’s brother, Owe, last February 4 because Lozada through
a text message said he was running out of funds in Hong Kong and
was tired of threats to his life.
"He (Lozada) texted me that it was so cold
where he was which I assumed was in London, with not even a
proper winter clothing and running out of funds," Gaite said.
He said Lozada also said, "Hindi ko na po
kaya ang ganitong buhay."
"I believed him. I pitied him. That text came
at about 2 a.m. of February 3. When my wife saw the text and
asked me about it, she also felt pity for him and asked if there
is any way I could help him," he said.
He said "no government fund was used in the
money that I gave to Mr. Lozada."
He said he asked Owe to sign an
acknowledgment receipt because he thought that Lozada had to
account for the money when he returns.
However, he failed to explain why he needed
the acknowledgement receipt if the money did not come from
government funds.
Gaite said it was "unfortunate" that his
efforts to help Lozada were "twisted by him (Lozada) or made to
appear as part of a scheme to prevent him from testifying in the
Senate hearing on the NBN-ZTE project."
He said it was Lozada, through acting Higher
Education chair Romulo Neri, who sought his legal assistance.
He said the information about Lozada’s travel
to London, not Hong Kong, came from Lozada himself after he
explained to Lozada that one of the valid reasons not to appear
at the January 30 Senate hearing was a previous schedule that he
could no longer cancel.
He said it was Lozada’s decision to push
through with the trip.
He said he did not arrange for Lozada’s
travel documents or fund his trip.
Gaite said he was "surprised" when he learned that Lozada was
set to return a day after he gave Owe the money. "Did he really
need the money or was he just baiting me?"
