Credibility problem

I was one of the millions of Filipinos glued to my TV set last Monday watching the Senate inquiry into the cancelled National Broadband Network-ZTE deal. Believe it or not, this was my first time to really see the vaunted star witness Jun Lozada, who blew the whistle on the potentially scandalous deal. Lozada, who himself had confessed to having done shady deals while working with government, is now speaking up against a lot of powerful and influential people who, he said, stood to get millions of dollars in kickbacks from this deal, had it pushed through.

Lozada is displaying a lot of courage by doing what he is doing. Not everyone can do what he is doing, even though he keeps telling everyone that he does not want to be in this position. He reminds me of Dustin Hoffman in the movie "Accidental Hero." We all like heroes, right? Especially if they look poor, powerless and meek who are up against people who have riches, power and fame. Anyone would most likely think, surely, this man must be telling the truth.

But my admiration for Lozada ends there. From what I saw last Monday, the statements he had earlier released implicating Mike Defensor, Environment Secretary Lito Atienza and Atty. Antonio Bautista started to be uncovered as full of holes.

The issue in this Senate investigation is whether Lozada was kidnapped upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport . He claimed he was held against his will and was being controlled by the police and Aviation Security Group.

In Monday's Senate inquiry, Defensor, Atienza, Bautista, and the other witnesses gave flawless accounts of what happened which even Lozada was not able to contradict. It appears that Lozada had been spinning lies as the story went on.

It was ably pointed out by the government witnesses that Lozada was not held against his will because he was free to talk to anyone through his cellular phone at any time upon his arrival at the airport. Why he did not bother to call his wife who was meeting him at the airport was not explained. But if indeed he feared he would be "salvaged" by his security escorts, that was enough reason for him to spin a web of stories.

Of course, one serious problem which is working to Lozada's advantage is that there appears to be a serious lack of credibility on the part of the government. No matter how true a government pronouncement is, people would seem more inclined to believe a "powerless" witness like Lozada.

The administration appeared to lose out on the propaganda value of Lozada's testimony, which the Senators, from their line of questioning, took hook, line and sinker. The senators were gentle on Lozada, despite his many faults while working with government, they appeared to be badgering the witnesses and would not stop asking questions until they got the answers that they wanted.

By now, every Tom, Dick and Harry has his five-cents' worth of what happened last Monday. But don't look for answers to your questions in this column. I'm still trying to find out for myself.*

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