Mike Defensor sues NBN witness Lozada for perjury
By Allison Lopez
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:10:00 07/04/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- Former presidential chief of staff Mike Defensor filed perjury charges Thursday against Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr., key witness in the inquiry into the scandal-tainted national broadband network (NBN) deal, for allegedly conflicting testimonies before the Senate and Court of Appeals.
In his six-page complaint-affidavit, Defensor accused the former president of the Philippine Forest Corp. of giving different statements at the appellate court’s hearing on his petition for writ of amparo, where Lozada claimed Defensor tried to convince him to lie and say he was not kidnapped, and that he did not know anything about the $329-million NBN deal between the Arroyo government and China’s ZTE Corp.
Lozada had claimed he was abducted by state security forces on his return to the Philippines in February. He had earlier left the country to avoid testifying before the Senate inquiry on the alleged kickbacks and overpricing surrounding the NBN contract.
"Mr. Lozada's testimony before the Senate significantly deviated from what he gave before the Court of Appeals. In the Senate, he stated that I asked him to deny that he was kidnapped; in the [appeals court] however, he said I asked him to deny any knowledge about the NBN-ZTE deal," said Defensor.
The complainant said his lawyers informed him that Lozada could be held liable for perjury under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code for "committing falsehoods under oath."
"The statement of Mr. Lozada before the Senate and the appellate court are clearly contradictory and cannot be reconciled. After validating the completeness of my story before the Senate, Mr. Lozada cannot thereafter change its tenor in the court hearing without being held liable for perjury," he said.
Lozada's wife Violet also faces perjury charges at the Metropolitan Trial Court of Manila for filing a writ of habeas corpus and claiming her husband was kidnapped a day after she had supposedly seen him.
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