MANILA, Philippines—His lips are sealed.

After claiming that Malacañang tried to pressure him to inhibit himself from hearing the perjury case filed by former presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor against whistle-blower Rodolfo Lozada Jr., Manila Judge Jorge Emmanuel Lorredo Thursday said a gag order had been issued against him by the Supreme Court.

“The court has decided to heed the advice of Supreme Court spokesperson Midas Marquez to refrain from granting new interviews,” said Lorredo, before reporters could question him any further.

The League of Provinces in the Philippines (LPP) had urged the high court to impose “the sternest sanction” on Lorredo for allegedly using his court order on the perjury case “to vent his irrational and sick ramblings and display his patently un-judicial conduct.”

Palace emissary

In a television interview Wednesday, the judge revealed that someone tried to persuade him to inhibit himself from the case. The judge, however, refused to name the alleged Malacañang emissary, saying the latter would only deny his claim.

“Malacañang cannot pressure me to inhibit,” said the presiding judge of Manila Metropolitan Trial Court (MTC) Branch 26, stressing that his decision was also meant to protect his colleagues at the Manila MTC.

But Malacañang Thursday dismissed the accusation.

“There is no truth to his (Lorredo’s) statements. We are wondering where he got his story,” Undersecretary Lorelei Fajardo, deputy presidential spokesperson, told reporters in a briefing.

“This case between Jun Lozada and Mike Defensor is between two private individuals, and the Palace and the administration have no stake in it.”

Instead of making these pronouncements to the media, Lorredo should just have filed a case against the Malacañang emissary, Fajardo added.

Lorredo said earlier he heard reports that Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez wanted him to inhibit from the case, and that a demolition job against him was already in the works. But he added that he would not react to Gonzalez’ verbal accusations “because I have breeding.”

In a statement, Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone, who is also the secretary-general of the LPP, said Lorredo’s May 7, 2009 order relative to the Lozada-Defensor case is unprecedented in the Philippine judicial history because of many “firsts,” including:

• “The order dragged the heart disease of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo into the case and maliciously inferred that the FG was being punished with the heart disease;

•It ‘warned’ former presidential chief of staff Mike Defensor that he may be ‘punished’ with sickness like the FG, should he not settle the case with Lozada.

• It invoked priests and nuns and the supposed good health of presidential spouses, all non-sequiturs to the case pending before his court.”

Fajardo said Lorredo was free to appeal to boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, recently designated Ambassador of Peace, to attend the next hearing and help Lozada and Defensor patch things up.