The Jun Lozada drama

Now that the story of his “kidnapping” has become clear to everybody, Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. should be offering masses in thanksgiving that he is still there, in one piece, and with his family. The narration about his being picked out of the Cathay Pacific tube at the airport, rushed into a waiting vehicle, and taken on a long tour through the C-5 highway, to Laguna and to Libis, was difficult to believe if he did not reveal it himself.

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Lozada was reportedly told that the paseo was for his own protection. What could have been his thoughts as he was being given the run-around, literally? Did he think of what happened to the late Ninoy Aquino who was also fetched from the plane upon his arrival in Manila ? Surely Lozada must have gone through great fear and anxiety because he did not even know he was supposed to have asked for that welcome party. Did he imagine that if he had suffered the same fate as Ninoy and had gotten shot right at the tarmac, there would also be an airport named after him?

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The fact that Lozada wept several times while he was being interviewed by the media at the Greenhills sanctuary provided by La Salle, confirms that he must have gone though a harrowing experience indeed. Fortunately for him his wife, and his siblings were very intelligent and alert, they knew what to do. That was why the police had to deliver him to them. The media was already cackling about the incident, the cops could not wipe off the suspicion had they held on to him longer.

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It is not very clear to me, at least, what exactly Lozada knows that could make all those officials so fearful of having him speak before the Senate. If, as the Malacañang spokespersons keep repeating, all this is just grandstanding on the part of the senators, why don't they leave Lozada alone and let him talk his head off? If he is making things up, the senators from the administration side will surely trip him up. After his interview yesterday, however, he has become even more dangerous, because he admitted that he would not be able to tell a lie, that he would blurt out the truth, being just a simple “probinsyanong insik”. Oh my!

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By the way, Rodolfo Lozada is also referred to as “Jun Lozada”. This may rattle a bit another “Jun Lozada” who used to be a congressman and a Malacañang official. Apolinario Lozada Jr., more popularly known as “Jun”, has probably been getting a lot of jokes from his friends who may be warning him to be careful that he does not get involved in any case of mistaken identity. The other Jun Lozada, even if he is under the wings of the madres and the La Salle Brothers, is not out of the woods yet, you know.

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I think TOYOTA only added insult to injury when they wrote me what was probably intended to be an apology, but at the same to reproach me. Regular readers of this column will surely recall what I wrote about how they had sent me an invitation to their thanksgiving affair in Manila, about which I heard nothing more since receiving it, despite the fact that the invitation stressed that one of their staff, a certain Ms. Ana Agregado, would get in touch with me for further details. Which never happened.

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Yesterday I received a letter from the same person who wrote originally, a Mr. Daniel M. Isla, Vice President, Marketing Division, formally expressing his apology for causing me “disappointment”. He said he was assured by his people that they exerted efforts to reach me through my office to secure confirmation of my presence. But one thing he said which was the insult was his statement that “…personal confirmation was not made possible because we were denied access to your personal mobile number by your colleagues in the office”. I questioned my staff here and none of them had ever received such a request from any Toyota people. And I never withhold my personal mobile number from anybody, being a media person.

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The claim that his people could not reach me is unacceptable because they were able to contact me for the invitation, not only once, but TWICE, the first by fax, and the second time by e-mail. Also, I called up the number suggested in Mr. Isla's letter, and spoke to a certain Ralph Garcia, who said he would inform Ms. Agregado. I am not trying to intimidate TOYOTA just because my family and I have bought several of their units over the years, but this is truly unconscionable. I wish they hadn't written anymore.*

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