Rodolfo Noel "Jun" Lozada Jr. on Monday said his friend, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Romulo Neri, sees President Arroyo as an "evil" person."She is evil," Lozada said at the Senate as he was forced by senators to "tell the truth" about Neri’s alleged description of Mrs. Arroyo.Lozada agonized in front of the senators and before revealing the "evil" description, he apologized to Neri.The Senate star witness said Neri uttered the four-letter word during a meeting with senators Panfilo Lacson and Maria Consuelo Madrigal, which allegedly took place Dec. 7, 2007 at the Asian Institute of Management building in Makati City.He revealed that after Neri testified at the Senate last October, the CHED chairman asked for his help to solicit "patriotic money."Lozada defined patriotic money as Neri’s insurance once he decides to leave the government and reveal what he knows about the allegedly graft-ridden $329 million national broadband network deal between the government and China’s ZTE Corp.He said that in pursuit of collecting "patriotic money," Neri sought an audience to present his outline of how deep the country’s corruption problem was.During the meeting, Lozada said Neri told the senators that four businessmen particularly benefitted from the corruption in the country.Lozada named the businessmen as Enrique Razon, chairman and president of International Container Terminal Services, Inc.; Lucio Tan, owner of Philippine Air Lines; and "Tommy" Alcantara and one of the "Aboitizes".Madrigal said that Neri referred to the four business people as the oligarchs who controlled the country.The Senate witness said that according to Neri, the government institutions that tolerate corruption are the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Department of Budget Management, the National Economic Development Authority, and local government units.Lozada then asked for a 15 minute break after making the revelation as he said he did not want to be branded again as a "cry baby."
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
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