Lozada after graft conviction: It’s hard to love the country

Engineer Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada is trying his best to remain steadfast in loving the country even after the Sandiganbayan convicted him of graft for awarding leasehold rights to his brother and a company linked to him when he was still head of Philippine Forest Corp. (PFC).

Lozada, who blew the lid off the alleged anomalies surrounding the $329-million national broadband network deal during the term of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, described loving the country as a “continuing agony” in light of his conviction.

“It’s difficult for me. It’s hard to love the country. I can be bitter if I will say it’s better to steal from the country than to say no. It’s a continuing agony. Loving this country is a continuing agony,” he told reporters Tuesday after the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division found him guilty of graft.

Lozada was sentenced to spend six years up to 10 years and one day in jail for violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

His co-accused for the charge, his brother Jose Orlando, was also found guilty of graft and meted the same sentence.

Lozada, however, was acquitted of his other graft charge, the violation of Section 3(h) of RA 3019.

The charges against Lozada stemmed from his decision to grant 6.59-hectare leasehold right to his brother, Jose Orlando, on December 18, 2009.

At the time, Lozada was president and chief executive officer of PFC, a government-owned and -controlled corporation under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The Sandiganbayan has ordered the engineer to post a P60,000 bail for his temporary liberty. The court gave his camp 15 days to file a motion for reconsideration.

Lozada believes his conviction serves as an example of what might befall those who expose anomalies in the government.

“I’m not a politician. I can’t appoint anybody. I can't give favors. Maybe this is really the fate of an ordinary Filipino. I only want to work,” he said.

“[W]e were the ones who exposed corruption in government, and we were the ones who ended up convicted,” he said.

'Dreadful things' after Arroyo acquittal

While Lozada said his camp will exhaust all legal means to clear his name, he said he already had an inkling of his fate when the Supreme Court acquitted Arroyo in the plunder case she is facing in connection with the supposed misuse of the state lottery firm’s intelligence funds.

"When it happened, I was already concerned. I could almost feel it coming— dreadful things,” he said.

Asked if he meant "dreadful things" would happen to him, Lozada said: "Ganoon talaga. When you have an opponent and your opponent is winning, then it means only one thing— you’re losing."

In its decision, the Sandiganbayan said Lozada “acted with manifest partiality and evident bad faith” when he allowed his brother to apply for tenurial rights under the Lupang Hinirang project.

It said that the Lozada brothers were patently aware of Orlando’s status as a consultant, and not only a mere employee since he had stated his relation to Philforest in his Contract Services Agreement.

“Considering that as consultant, accused Orlando directly reports to accused Rodolfo who is the President and CEO of the PFC, it is presumed that the latter knows that the former is his consultant,” the court said.

It said that Lozada’s decision to issue an Order of Payment directing Orlando to pay for the application fees, sign the Notice of Award of an for the lease of the 6.59-hectare public forest, and include his brother in the list of Grantees of Leasehold Rights showed he “was not only biased… but also possessed the intent or motive to grant leasehold rights” to his brother when he knows the latter is unqualified as he is not an officer, staff or employee of PFC.

In addition to showing bias, the Sandiganbayan also found that Lozada and his brother conspired with each other so that Orlando will be awarded with the lease of forest lands.

The court said that while Lozada and Orlando acted separately and distinctly from each other, their actions, when taken collectively, “indicate the unity in intent and design.” —ALG, GMA News