Lozada, Angping seek court’s OK for business trips

Former Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Harry Angping (left) and NBN-ZTE whistle-blower Rodolfo Lozada Jr. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Former Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Harry Angping and NBN-ZTE whistle-blower Rodolfo Lozada Jr., who are both facing graft charges filed by the Ombudsman, have sought permission from the Sandiganbayan to travel abroad to attend separate business meetings.

Angping, a former representative of Manila, asked the antigraft court’s Fifth Division to grant his request to travel to China from Nov. 7 to 10.

In an urgent motion, Angping listed the cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong as part of his itinerary, adding that the business meetings had been arranged at least two months prior to the filing of the motion.

He said he was to meet with private and government individuals and entities to encourage them to invest in the Philippines. He said he would abide by all the conditions and requirements the court may impose for his travel.

Angping also asked that the travel bond of P60,000 he had earlier posted be deemed sufficient as a guarantee of his compliance with the conditions to be imposed by the court.

Angping, along with businessman Edmund Montanes, was charged with graft for alleged connivance in hiring 80 employees, consisting of 71 janitorial personnel and nine gardeners, without a public bidding in 2009 when Angping was PSC chair.

Lozada, who has two graft cases pending in the court’s Fourth Division, filed an urgent motion to amend his permit to travel, also to Shenzen, China, from Nov. 8 to 13 to from Nov. 18 to 24.

He promised to return and abide by the antigraft court’s conditions for a leave of travel. The court earlier granted his motion to travel to Shenzhen for a business meeting on Nov. 8 to 13.

Lozada, however, said the meeting was moved to Nov. 18-24.

Lozada, who is on the hold departure list of the Bureau of Immigration, was charged with two counts of graft for allegedly granting leasehold rights over public lands to his brother and coaccused in the case, Jose Orlando Lozada, and to a private company with connections to himself and his wife while he was president of the government Philippine Forest Corp. in 2007.

The cases were filed by the Office of the Ombudsman based on the complaint of incumbent Philippine Forest Corp. president Erwin Santos.

Ironically, Lozada is a key witness in the graft case against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and three other former public officials, which is also being heard in the same court.

Lozada made headlines in 2008 when he testified on the alleged anomalous $329-million National Broadband Network deal entered into by the Philippine government with Chinese firm ZTE Corp., which prompted Arroyo to cancel the contract.