Love him or hate him, there is no getting away from Jun Lozada if you live in this country.  He is undoubtedly the man of the hour, being treated like a rock star by students, the main attraction of anti-GMA rallies, and the continuing target of adulation, chismis, black propaganda and mudslinging.

One thing most would notice about him is how much he has changed.  The guy who tearfully insisted that this was not his fight is now at the frontline of the battle, the figurehead of the mounting calls for truth and accountability, the one making the speeches and rallying the crowd to action.  He said himself that he did not like the limelight, but now that he is basking in the spotlight, he looks like he is enjoying himself.  He must have realized that fame and all the constant attention isn't so bad at all.  When thousands scream and chant your name, when you are called a hero, when you have become a household name, when you get more airtime or print space than anybody else in this country, it would take a special kind of man not to let all that not get to your head, and in fairness to him, Jun Lozada did say he was just human.

Why do so many believe him?  Is it Tita Cory?  Is it the army of priests and nuns who constantly surround and support him?  Why do so many take his word as Gospel truth when the man by his own admission has also engaged in corrupt practices, does not have solid evidence to back up his claims, and is even an adulterer to boot?

He is probably seen as credible because the same government that is pulling out all the stops in destroying what’s left of his reputation made him so frigging credible and famous by trying to kidnap him in an attempt to shut him up and obviously hide something from the public.  If Jun Lozada hadn’t been the target of one of the most famous botched kidnap attempts by the government in Philippine history, he would be just another tainted witness.  But they tried to silence him by sending him away, by giving him 500,000 pesos, by taking him against his will when he did come back, and by adding another 50,000 pesos ;grocery money; to the numerous attempts to buy his silence when it became obvious that they could not make him disappear.  It does not take a Filipino rocket scientist to figure out that this guy knows something.

There is also the argument of those who insist that Jun Lozada is not a credible witness simply because he himself has admitted that he was involved in shady deals when he was a G-man.  Well if Mr. Lozada had the virtues of Mother Teresa, he could never be the head of a Filipino government entity or be in a position to be privy to such shameless thievery would he?  Are they telling us to wait until we find a witness with the virtues of Mother Teresa to come out of the woodwork and tell the truth, with matching signed documents and official receipts for the illegal cash advances and commissions before we can formally be indignant and protest against corruption in this country?

If Mr. Lozada were indeed lying, then it would be easy for this administration, with the awesome resources at its beck and call, to expose his lies.  And they would if they could, if only it weren’t so difficult to make up so many counter lies from the so many people involved until all those lies would have the consistency of the truth.  This Herculean task became apparent during their attempt to justify the attempted kidnapping, when the prepared statements of the officials responsible for the botched operation could not stand up against the candid testimony of the kidnap victim, and it quickly became pretty obvious which side was lying.  That didn’t work out so well so they turned to attacking the witness instead by digging up his sins, including his wrongdoing while in government service, and even his adulterous affair, which while sensational and true, unfortunately didn’t make Jun Lozada’s statements about corruption in the NBN deal any less true.

Of course Jun Lozada would have made an even better witness if he had evidence, or if he had refused to be dragged into politics.  But beggars can’t be choosers.  This country needs people who are willing to spill the beans, and compared to Chavit, Jun Lozada is already a marked improvement.  Unfortunately for us, it is up to the flawed Senate to determine whether or not Mr. Lozada is telling the truth because the fatally flawed DOJ and Ombudsman, which have become shameless lapdogs, attack dogs, or just plain minions of the President have lost any kind of credibility when it comes to ferreting out the real truth where the first family is involved.

All this noise and rumbling would be a waste if the real truth could not finally come out.  I don’t care if that means proper debunking Jun Lozada's claims by equally, if not more credible witnesses or if it means the downfall of GMA or her cabal.  Either way, unless this administration starts catering to the truth instead of power and greed, Jun Lozada's version of the truth will continue to haunt it until the people get tired.  What they will get tired of, we may find out soon enough.