MANILA, Philippines -- Malacañang?s fingerprints are all over the crime scene in the alleged abduction last week of whistle-blower Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr.

This view emerged during a visit by senators at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Thursday in the course of their inquiry into Lozada?s claim he was kidnapped as part of an attempt to cover up irregularities in the botched $329-million broadband deal.

Security records shown to the Senate team revealed the presence of the Presidential Security Group in restricted areas of NAIA and that PSG men were in the vehicle that drove Lozada away from the airport shortly after his arrival from Hong Kong on Feb. 5.
Several logbooks at NAIA Terminal 1?s basement security posts indicated that a Toyota Corolla Altis (ZCJ-556) carrying PSG officers arrived through the limited-access tarmac an hour before Lozada arrived and then left at about the time Lozada was driven away.

2 versions

?That?s the mystery now and there are two sides of the story. One side is, they were among those who fetched Lozada. The other side is, it is by some strange coincidence that they appeared at the same time and then left at the same time,? Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters.

With Cayetano at the airport were Senate President Manuel Villar and Senators Rodolfo Biazon and Gregorio Honasan.

?It appears that Malacañang?s fingerprints are all over the crime scene,? said Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan in a statement after receiving a briefing.

?The presence of PSG members at the airport is proof that Malacañang was involved here, and they have to explain this to the public,? he said.

PSG in denial

Brig. Gen. Romeo Prestoza, PSG chief, angrily denied that the PSG was involved in the alleged abduction. He said his men were at the NAIA on that day to look into security preparations for the return of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo from a European vacation.

?They are trying to drag the name of the PSG because this is under Malacañang, that is what?s happening,? Prestoza said.

Lozada arrived at NAIA aboard Cathay Pacific flight CX-919 at 4:40 p.m. on Feb. 5.

He earlier said soldiers fetched him from the tube, took him to a restricted passageway through the departure area a floor up, then down to the tarmac through an elevator, out to the tarmac and on to a drive that reached Los Baños, Laguna, before he was released to the custody of a police team at around 8 p.m.

Lozada said he boarded a waiting Altis on the airport tarmac. The handwritten logs indicated that the same PSG vehicle drove out with Lozada on board at 4:50 p.m., along with vehicles of airport officials.

While he could not clearly explain why there was a PSG-owned vehicle at the time of Lozada?s arrival, airport security chief Angel Atutubo, a retired general, said the PSG men must have gone there for their usual task of assisting VIPs.

VIP parking log

A logbook at the NAIA 1?s basement level VIP parking lot showed that the PSG?s Altis arrived at 3:30 p.m., roughly an hour before Lozada flew in. The entry said that the PSG men were ?going upstairs? to the dignitaries lounge, a VIP room at the arrival level.

It was not explained how the guard on duty knew the men were from the PSG.

?The PSG designated as liaison officers at the airport are issued seasonal passes. When they enter, the ID is checked and then the person is allowed in ... the name is no longer taken down,? NAIA General Manager Alfonso Cusi told the Senators.

At 4:23 p.m., a Ford Everest (WAA-525) and a Nissan Serena (ZLJ-839) also arrived at the basement parking with Atutubo and airport operations chief Octavio ?Bing? Lina on board, the guard noted.

An entry at 4:50 p.m. tied the PSG vehicle with Atutubo?s party, that was then noted to be escorting a certain ?VIP.? Lozada was the only VIP that Atutubo and other security men had admitted to have assisted at the airport at that time.

?All service vehicles parked [at the VIP parking area] moved out upon arrival of VIP together with General Atutubo,? read the log.

Corroborating record

A record book at the basement baggage area, a security post near a limited access elevator where Lozada passed through, also had logs consistent with entries that Cayetano discovered in the parking lot security log.

A 4:20-p.m. entry showed that Atutubo aboard his vehicle then ?proceeded to Dignitaries Lounge with escort.? A log 10 minutes later placed Lina at the basement to assist the PSG Altis that was ?waiting to board VIP pax (passenger) due by using elevator.?
The record then showed that Atutubo, Lina and a certain Corporal Ramilla checked out and ?used the elevator to assist? a passenger who had arrived, then boarded the same vehicle the other security log traced to the PSG.

The log noted that the Altis ?drove out with? the Ford Everest and exited the airport complex through ramp Gate 1.

PSG men boarded Altis

Asked what he made out of the PSG presence based on the security logs, Cayetano said: ?If you look at the logbook, it was clear that there was PSG and the PSG boarded the Altis,? said Cayetano.

Atutubo said he did not know about the PSG presence and, contrary to what the log indicated, said that he stayed behind when Lozada had been taken by supposed police guards.

?There was just one vehicle that left with Lozada. Engineer Lina and I were left standing in front of the elevator. Then we saw that an airport police patrol car escorted the vehicle because that?s a requirement to pass through the ramp,? Atutubo said.

He confirmed seeing Lozada board an Altis.

Reenactment

The Senate team conducted a reenactment of the way Lozada was fetched. It took about an hour, recorded by about 50 Senate and airport media people.

Rey Puno, a senior airport security official, played Lozada and Dante Basanta, an operations official, acted as Rodolfo Valeroso, a retired Army sergeant working as a security agent for the Philippine National Police-Aviation Security Group (PNP-ASG) who was reportedly tasked to fetch Lozada.

While Lozada said between four to eight ?military-looking? men seized him at the airport, Atutubo stressed only he and Valeroso met Lozada at NAIA?s Gate 7.

Atutubo said Lozada willingly surrendered his baggage to Valeroso, indicating that he knew and trusted the police officer.

From the tube, Atutubo led the senators to the stairs through which he took Lozada. Usually used by departing passengers to descend from the departure area to Gate 7 for boarding, the stairs led them to the departure concourse.

Toilet call

Airport officials then showed the senators the male toilet at the pre-departure area, which they said Lozada used for around 10 minutes.

Concerned why Lozada was taking too long in the toilet, Lina said he went inside the toilet and saw him talking on his mobile phone.

The officials have been asserting that point to prove that Lozada was free to communicate with friends and family.