SENATE whistle-blower Rodolfo Lozada Jr. on Sunday said that he will continue going on out-of-town trips, saying he will carry on with his provincial sorties until July despite the reduction of his security detail by the Senate.

“The Senate secretariat called to inform me that it can no longer cover the expenses for my security and that my trips will be allowed up to June only,” Lozada said, adding: “But I will continue with or without Senate security.”

Sister Mary John Mananzan, of the Order of Saint Benedict (OSB), chairman of the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP), said that the organization has scheduled a series of Masses to be celebrated for Lozada in time for the opening of schools in June, aside from the provincial trips.

“I believe the Senate owes him more,” Mananzan said. “I do not accept and I am questioning the Senate’s move to cut down on his security. Ang inako lang nila ay security, hindi pa nila ito maibigay? That is very irresponsible on the Senate’s part.”

The AMRSP has given refuge to Lozada since he revealed his alleged personal knowledge about the controversial national broadband network deal with China’s ZTE Co. in February.

Earlier reports said that some senators called for the withdrawal of Lozada’s security after Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. noted the alleged financial abuse done on the Senate by Lozada.

The Senate has reportedly spent over P2 million for Lozada and another witness, Dante Madriaga.

Asked about the graft charges filed against him last week, Lozada said that everything he obtained when he was then-president of the Philippine Forest Commission (PFC) was done “with consent.”

“Everything I did was done with a word of approval,” he said.

On May 20 the National Bureau of Investigation filed graft charges against Lozada and Gerardo Cariño, acting vice president of PFC. 

The two allegedly acquired almost a total of P15 million worth of properties from 2006 to 2007. The reported possessions include a 4x4 Toyota Hilux, a 2007 model Toyota Camry, and 35 heads of Boer goats.

Gun ban leads to more crimes–group

GUNS being inanimate objects do not cause such crimes. Rather, it is the criminals who misuse unlicensed guns that commit crimes, and must be brought to justice.

THE state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) has slashed its generation rates by as much as P1.44 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in Luzon between January last year and April this year.

AMID the reported foreclosures of real-estate mortgages, House Speaker Prospero Nograles has directed the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development to investigate the Balikatan Housing Financial Inc. (BHFI), which has entered into a joint venture with the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC) to manage nonperforming residential mortgage loans.

COMBINED forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf Group attacked a Marine detachment in Basilan on Sunday, but the troops fought them, killing two gunmen.

SENATE whistle-blower Rodolfo Lozada Jr. on Sunday said that he will continue going on out-of-town trips, saying he will carry on with his provincial sorties until July despite the reduction of his security detail by the Senate.

THE police task force investigating the unexplained killings of political activists and journalists has so far arrested 27 suspects in 141 verified incidents.

THE Zobel de Ayala family clarified that there is no Supreme Court (SC) decision ordering any member of the family to distribute any land in Calatagan, Batangas, to agrarian-reform beneficiaries.