Graft case against Jun Lozada still on

Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr. FILE PHOTO

The Ombudsman has dismissed with finality the bid of Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr. to have the graft charges against him dropped, ruling that the whistle-blower had failed to present new evidence that could reverse its ruling.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, in a six-page resolution, junked Lozada’s motion for reconsideration filed in connection with the charges he is facing over the alleged award of leasehold rights to his brother and to a company which he purportedly owned when he was head of the Philippine Forest Corp. (PhilForest).

A motion for reconsideration can assail a previous resolution only if new evidence is discovered or if irregularities could be shown, which Lozada did not [do], Morales said.

“None of these grounds is present in these cases. The arguments raised by the respondents were already addressed and exhaustively discussed,” she said.

Lozada and his brother, Jose Orlando Lozada, were charged in the first case of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for the award of a 6.59-hectare leasehold right to Jose in December 2009 under PhilForest’s Lupang Hinirang program.

Lozada blew the whistle on the $329-million national broadband network deal which resulted in graft charges filed against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and several former government officials.

On the second count of graft, Lozada purportedly awarded leasehold rights to Transforma Quinta Inc. which he and his wife, Maria Violeta Lozada, represented. Cynthia D. Balana