Lozada unfazed by bomb threat at PUP, asks gov't not to ‘gag’ him

ZTE witness Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. scored Thursday the alleged bomb threat that disrupted preparations for his speaking engagement at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Manila. While Lozada said he was not surprised over the supposed threat, he appealed to government not to gag his "apolitical" question-and-answer forums with students. "Lahat naman gagawin nila huwag ako marinig ng ibang tao pa. Apolitical naman ito (They are doing everything to prevent people from hearing my story. But this is an apolitical engagement)," he said in an interview on dzBB radio. He said he would push through with the speaking engagement despite the supposed bomb threat. "Pag ganyang forum, mostly question and answer lang yan. Huwag naman sana nilang pigilan ang mga bata (These forums are just question-and-answer affairs. I wish the government would not deprive the students the right to hear me out)," he said. When asked if he would continue his campus tour despite such bomb threats, he said, "wala nang atrasan naumpisahan ko na (I have already started it, there's no turning back)." In the same interview, Lozada said that he will also attend the interfaith rally Friday in Makati. Meanwhile, tension gripped the PUP campus anew as students formed a human chain to prevent a police bomb squad from blocking access to the campus. Students who were preparing to welcome Lozada had earlier voiced suspicion the supposed bomb threat was a ploy to prevent Lozada from speaking at the PUP campus. The group conducted a noise barrage at the gate and engaged PUP security men in a shoving match after the gates were closed. Radio dzBB reported that at least one male student almost got run over by a police vehicle which he tried to block amid the tension. - GMANews.TV