NBN-ZTE scandal whistleblower gets added nun security

After the ambush-slay of jueteng scandal witness Wilfredo "Boy" Mayor last February 28, a key witness in another corruption-related mess is getting more "nun security." The Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) said it has virtually restricted Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. to his safe house, in the wake of Mayor's killing. "We provided him more securities now and we also decided to limit his insignificant movements," Mananzan said in an interview on Church-run Radio Veritas. Aside from the security guards provided by the AMRSP, at least two nuns are also going to accompany Lozada in all his travels and appointments from now on. Excerpts of the interview with Mananzan were posted Thursday night on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site. Lozada is a key witness in the $329.48-million national broadband network project deal scandal with China’s ZTE Corp. in April 2007, which dragged the name of First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike" Arroyo and other high-ranking government personalities. [See: Blue ribbon seeks graft raps vs First Gentleman in ZTE mess] Mr. Arroyo has repeatedly denied any involvement in the alleged scandal. Lozada has been under the AMRSP's custody since he surfaced and testified in the scandal in February 2008. Some volunteers and concerned citizens are also assisting in the heightened security for Lozada, Mananzan noted. Mananzan admitted that the brutal killing of Mayor, a witness in the Senate investigation on the jueteng (an illegal numbers game) payola in 2005, had a chilling effect on them. Unidentified armed men shot dead Mayor in southern Metro Manila before dawn of February 28. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV