MANILA, Philippines -- Malacañang has changed yet again its story on the P500,000 given to Rodolfo Lozada Jr. purportedly to prevent him from testifying at the Senate inquiry on the anomalous $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) deal.

Deputy Executive Secretary Manuel Gaite Tuesday said the money he handed to Lozada?s brother on Feb. 4 had come from him after all, prompting incredulous senators conducting an inquiry into the NBN deal to ask why he would give such a huge sum to a virtual stranger.

Gaite admitted that he had only met Lozada twice before -- the first time during a Cabinet presentation made by Lozada and the second on Jan. 29, the eve of Lozada?s hasty departure for Hong Kong to avoid the Senate probe.

Gaite?s statement Tuesday was the third version offered by Malacañang since Lozada divulged in a media interview that he -- through his brother Owe -- had received P500,000 from the Palace official.

The first version had Gaite explaining in a statement that the money had come from him as some sort of personal loan to Lozada.

The second story had Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita saying the money did not come from Gaite but from a ?private? anonymous donor.

With Lozada also appearing at the hearing, Gaite Tuesday told the Senate inquiry that he volunteered to give that much money out of pity after Lozada texted him at 2 a.m. on Feb. 3 saying he was in dire need of funds.

Gaite said the P500,000 came partly from his uncle and from his sister-in-law and was to be used for the renovation of his in-laws? house. Later, he said the money was part of the P1.5 million he had advanced from his uncle, Melquiades Gaite, in exchange for a piece of land that Gaite planned to sell to him.

?That weekend I had cash. I decided I might as well lend to him the P500,000 I had,? Gaite said. He said he thought Lozada was in London, and not in Hong Kong where Lozada really was.

The next day, Feb. 4, Gaite said he arranged to meet with Lozada?s brother Owe at the Shangri-La mall in Mandaluyong City.

Never saw brother before

Although he said he had not seen Owe before, Gaite said he took him as Lozada?s brother because they resembled each other. He said he handed Owe the cash inside a sealed envelope.

Lozada confirmed he sent a text message to Environment Secretary Lito Atienza and former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri asking for assistance while he was in Hong Kong.

He said he remembered having complained that he was very cold, that he did not have winter clothes, that he was running out of funds and that he wanted to go home.

Lozada said Atienza told him to send the message to Gaite. ?Manny will take care of it,? Lozada quoted Atienza as telling him.

While Gaite insisted that he thought Lozada was in London, Lozada said he recalled that he was always clear in his text messages that he was in Hong Kong.

Gaite could no longer produce Lozada?s original text message, saying he had erased it.

Not a bribe

Lozada also stressed he never said that the money from Gaite was a bribe. He said the money was for his expenses in Hong Kong. Lozada returned the money still contained in the sealed envelope at the Senate hearing on Feb. 18.

Under questioning, Gaite said he did not inform Ermita that he gave that much money to Lozada. Gaite said his monthly salary was between P35,000 and P45,000.

?I cannot provide a rational justification for what I did. My action at the time was moved by my faith and conscience. I pitied him,? Gaite said.

Gaite admitted that he did not think of the money as a loan as he did not set any terms for repayment. He also did not raise the matter with Lozada when they met again at the Senate hearing.

?I was waiting for Jun to mention it, I thought it was a personal thing between us,? Gaite said.

?I did not think of interest. If the money could be returned to me as early as possible, it?s all right. (If not) we?ll just have to discuss it,? Gaite said.

Cavalier attitude

Sen. Jamby Madrigal said Gaite?s cavalier attitude showed the money did not come from him. ?You just gave (the money) to a stranger?? she said, to which Gaite simply said he trusted Lozada and his brother.

In handing over the money, Gaite had Owe sign a piece of paper that simply read, ?Received the amount P500,000? dated Feb. 4, 2008.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the document did not say who the money had come from, and did not have Gaite?s name on it.

?The money could have come from someone else. We don?t believe that a lawyer of your caliber would do that,? he said, reminding him that Sen. Joker Arroyo earlier at the outset of the day?s hearing had vouched for his competence and integrity.

Inconsistent

Sen. Francis Pangilinan told Gaite that he was being ?inconsistent,? pointing out that he had admitted he had only given as much as P10,000 in the past to someone else in dire need.

?Very unusual,? Gaite admitted.

?If he wasn?t a witness, would you have lent him half a million?? Pangilinan pressed on.

?I wouldn?t know. I really don?t know the situation,? Gaite replied.

When questioned by Sen. Manuel Roxas II, Gaite admitted Ermita?s assertion that the money did not come from Gaite ?may not be accurate.?

Told by Roxas this was far from what Ermita had said, Gaite replied: ?I don?t know what he said. I said no government funds were used.?

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he had just made a liar out of Ermita.

Travel allowance

Sen. Alan Cayetano reminded Gaite that government officials had limited allowance in official overseas trips. For congressmen, he said it was about $300 per day.

Even with a daily allowance of $400 for 10 days, Lozada would have only been entitled to about P160,000 in 10 days, Cayetano pointed out.

?On hindsight it?s a little bit too much,? Gaite conceded.

At the start of the hearing, Senator Arroyo vouched for Gaite?s credibility. He said Gaite had a sister who is a nun, a brother who is a priest, and that his wife is a director at La Salle Green Hills.

Very religious

Arroyo also pointed out that Gaite is his townmate in Baoa, Camarines Sur. ?We come from a town that?s very religious,? he said.

?Give him charity? No more hissing, no more partiality, that?s all I ask,? Arroyo told the audience composed of nuns, students and civic groups supportive of Lozada.

Arroyo said Gaite joined Malacañang during the term of President Corazon Aquino in 1986. Arroyo was then executive secretary.

?All the staff were Marcos people. During the time I was there, while Cory was there, there was not a single betrayal. That is faith? that people can also be good, that we should be tolerant of opposing views,? Arroyo said.

Pimentel, who was interior secretary in the Aquino Cabinet, said in a Catholic country having a nun and a priest in the family was considered an achievement.

?However, that?s no guarantee a person will speak the truth,? he said, pointing out that Judas, one of the 12 apostles, betrayed Jesus.