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Bishop to Lozada: Carry harassment suit as badge of honor


MANILA, Philippines - Instead of treating harassment suits a symbol of shame, ZTE witness Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr should see the graft charges lodged against him before the Ombudsman last Thursday as a badge of honor, a senior Catholic bishop said. In a radio interview, Caloocan Bishop and Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) public affairs head Deogracias Iñiguez Jr on Friday said the charges against Lozada, which comes from a perceived pro-Arroyo group, have even boosted the ZTE witness' credibility and heightened the religious' respect for him. "Kahit ang taong may magandang kalooban nagiging biktima na rin ng kalagayang ito. Ang pag-amin niyang naging bahagi siya nito nagdagdag sa kanyang kredibilidad (Even a good-hearted person can become a victim of circumstances. The fact that he admitted taking part in some irregularities before boosts his credibility)," Iñiguez said in an interview on dwIZ radio. The Babae Para sa Kaunlaran (Babae Ka) lodged the charges stemming from alleged irregularities committed by Lozada when was still president of the Philippine Forest Corp. (PhilForest). Lozada quit his job at PhilForest, an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, last February after deciding to surface and tell all about the $329.48-million national broadband dead with China's ZTE Corp. Those implicated by Lozada in alleged irregularities on the deal include First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and resigned Commission on Elections chairman benjamin Abalos. Lozada is currently in Western Visayas for a series of speaking engagements for "truth and accountability." In the interview, Iñiguez said the case was one of the risks Lozada had to face for testifying on the ZTE mess, and his willingness to face that risk in testifying made the bishops "admire him all the more." "Sa posibleng kanyang kasangkutan kanyang inamin na siya sangkot sa katiwalian. Nagpapatibay pa nga iyan sa kanyang kredibilidad (Lozada knows there will be consequences and he faced them. That for us boosted his credibility)," he said. - GMANews.TV
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