Arroyo, hubby cleared in Lozada ‘abduction’

The Office of the Ombudsman has cleared President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike" Arroyo, of any involvement in the alleged abduction of NBN-ZTE deal star witness Rodolfo “Jun" Lozada Jr. two years ago. In an 81-page resolution released Monday, the Ombudsman dismissed a complaint filed by Senator Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby" Madrigal seeking the indictment of the First Couple and 16 other officials for obstruction of justice and disturbance of proceedings in connection with Lozada’s alleged abduction. Other respondents to the case included former Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, former Presidential Chief of Staff Mike Defensor, former police chief Avelino Razon, and Ninoy Aquino International Airport assistant general managers Angel Atutubo and Octavio Lina. The Ombudsman based its decision on findings of a five-member investigating panel created upon filing of the complaint. It also cited Arroyo’s immunity from suit as reason for clearing her of involvement in the case. Lozada was allegedly taken away by suspected presidential guards in February 2008 upon his arrival in the country, supposedly to prevent him from testifying in the Senate inquiry on the botched national broadband network (NBN) deal entered into by the Arroyo government with China's Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment (ZTE) Corp. three years ago. Lozada not prevented to testify In the resolution, the Ombudsman ruled that “Lozada was not prevented by the respondents from reporting the commission of any offense or the identity of any offender" during the Senate inquiry, since Lozada himself “feared appearing at the Senate." The Ombudsman used Lozada’s own testimony in issuing the ruling, saying that whistleblower really did not want to face the legislative body investigating on the controversial deal. It quoted Lozada as saying that “he does not want the case to reach the Senate." “Contrary to the accusation that Lozada was being prevented from attending the Senate hearings, it was in fact Lozada himself who was unwilling to go," the resolution read. The fact that Lozada was allowed to testify later on in the Senate hearing renders the complaint “moot and academic," the Ombudsman said. “[H]e already testified on the alleged NBN-ZTE anomalies …[it] renders moot and academic the instant complaint," the Ombudsman said in its decision. Midnight clearance Lozada, for his part, accused the Ombudsman of making moves to clear Arroyo of all charges before the President ends her term on June 30. The Ombudsman’s resolution on Lozada’s alleged abduction came days after the same office upheld its earlier decision clearing the First Couple of involvement in the ZTE-NBN case. [http://www.gmanews.tv/story/191952/ombudsman-upholds-abalos-neri-involvement-in-zte-case] “The Ombudsman is vaccinating Arroyo before she steps down. They know that the NBN-ZTE anomaly is the Achilles’ heel of the most powerful politician of the country. That is why the Ombudsman is protecting her heel," Lozada said in a text message to GMANews.TV. He likewise said the Ombudsman is just “hiding the truth" about the NBN-ZTE deal from the public through legalities. “They know the truth and they are doing their best to hide it behind this legal sleight of hand," he said. No obstruction of justice In the same resolution, the Ombudsman ruled that the respondents of the complaint could not be charged with obstruction of justice since the Senate inquiry was not a criminal proceeding but a hearing “in aid of legislation." The Ombudsman also said that [Jamby] Madrigal failed to support with concrete evidence her accusations of disturbance of proceeding against the respondents. “The evidence presented did not clearly show that the foregoing elements have been satisfactorily met, thus, for lack of probable cause, we find no reason to prosecute the herein respondents," it said. GMANews.TV sought Madrigal’s side regarding this issue but the senator was unavailable for comment as of posting time. - Andreo C. Calonzo, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV