Since Jun Lozada is a vital witness, obviously he was helped by some people of the administration. He was made to go to Hong Kong just a few days before a scheduled hearing in order to help him evade from being made to testify in the senate investigation on the NBN project scandal because he feared for his life since he already received death threats which he supposed were coming from the camp of those who are directly involved in the scandal -- of course, where else will the threats come from? And the irony is that the government he works for is involved in the scandal.
According to their plan, after some days of stay in Hong Kong in an "official" business, he was supposed to proceed to London to further lengthen his days away from the country in order to make more difficult the serving of the senate's arrest warrant to him. But by some reason, he was not able to go to London and instead he decided to return home. He communicated with his DENR boss and a plan was made concerning his security upon his return.
Few people who were interested of Jun's return knew about the schedule of his arrival and so they eagerly waited for him at the arrival area of the airport terminal -- among them were some members of his family, some media people, some senate personnel, and some security agents.
Jun's ordeal started upon his arrival at the NAIA. Because he was not made aware of the "true" security arrangement which the PNP planned for his arrival, and since no one also of those non-admin-allied people (who were waiting at the arrival area) were able to anticipate the PNP's "basic genius", of course as can be expected, they were all foolishly caught by surprise -- including Jun himself -- and the rest is history. (Kayo na lang ang mag ala PNP "secret service"!)
I could just imagine how Jun silently panic within himself when the PNP agents whom he did not knew intercepted him while he was yet walking inside the passenger passage tube and was quickly escorted to another way that obviously did not led to the terminal's official arrival area. If you were in his situation at that moment, what thoughts would have come to your mind? (Considering that he had some sort of anticipation that something bad might happen to him since he received death threats.)
Is the incident that happened to Jun upon his arrival a case of kidnapping, an abduction, or just a case of the PNP providing security to someone who requested for it? Well, like many of you, I too have an impression about it. Since the Senate is conducting an investigation of the case, let us leave to the proper authorities the responsibility of calling it for what it really is. But whatever the outcome is -- be it kidnapping or security -- it is clear that people from the administration wanted Jun Lozada not to testify in the senate investigation on the NBN project scandal. It is of course but logical. If you are a Malacañang operative or a hard administration blind loyal supporter, what would you do of someone or somebody like Jun Lozada or Romulo Neri?
Let me digress just a little bit from the topic. This is just an impression or perhaps an observation that is primarily meant to provide some sort of feedback to our media people because the nation is greatly relying on you. To our national media (especially their field personnel), this incident shows that most of you still lack the skill (if not the training) needed to be able to get substantial hard-to-get information. You rely only on the easy and obvious ways or means. No wonder the people are not able to react on your news appropriately and profoundly. If you want to catch the PNP, think like the PNP. You know what I mean? And also, I noticed that in many of the important press conferences called by people of the government concerning crucial issues, many of the representatives that media agencies send lack the wits or reasoning skills needed to engage their subjects more effectively in order to create positive impact on the viewers that will help them form right opinions. Not all of the viewers are smart enough to be able to fill up for the missing pieces of information that will complete the whole picture. (Salamat na lang at ginawa'n n'yo ng full TV coverage ang Senate investigation.)
Will national interest prevail over competition? Does our national media agencies lack cooperation and coordination among themselves especially in times of crucial national events? What about national media's performance in the Manila Peninsula Hotel stand-off? Well we saw what happened, but maybe we will save the comments and observations about that event at some other time. Some months ago, two of our major news agencies are fighting over some TV ratings anomaly. Basically we could also see the bad side of our culture in it -- like the NBN project scandal -- graft, bribery, or corruption. It seems we ourselves are also doing what we are criticizing and covering live.
Back to Jun Lozada's situation, we could only appreciate the great difficulty he is in right now -- like the difficulty experienced by his good friend NEDA ex-chief Romulo Neri who is a more vital witness than Jun. But Neri was being "professional" for the moment and temporarily saved himself from such further predicaments that Jun is undergoing right now. Neri gained some fleeting relief whereas Jun is suffering. When Neri testified in the senate months ago, he earned the people's respect much like Jun today. But when Neri turned "professional", he gained the people's condemnation. Yet I still hope and believe that in the days ahead he will be stirred up once again by the Holy Spirit to resume and finish once and for all the commendable thing he started. Then the two Jedis will become one in their struggle for honesty and their combined strength will become a very formidable force that the nation can join its force with and rally behind the cause of "Moral Revolution" against the power of the dark side.
In connection with the events happening recently in our nation, our religious leaders have called for a "Communal Action" aimed at unseating the current administration for its unconfessed corruptions. As one saying goes, "Every journey must begin with a single step". For a "Communal Action" to increase its chance of succeeding, it must involve the largest number of community members as possible and its first step must be started the RIGHT way in the RIGHT time. To those who called for the action, have you considered if it is already the right time to do such action? Have you prepared the hearts of your community members and are they ready enough? What specific first step should be taken? Who will be the new leader and is he not corrupt and is he fit for the leadership? Those are just basic questions one must ask before he calls for such an action, and not just call for it for the sake of taking advantage of the current situation (especially if your role is more of a caller rather than a front liner).
In our history as a nation, so far only two of such actions were able to achieve some degree of success but both fall short of their real objective which is sustained progress and prosperity brought about by a consistent and a continual righteous and honest governance. It is always relatively easy to initiate a "Communal Action" but it is very hard (if not impossible for a culture like ours) to advance it to its full objective because of a well-known filipino trait "Ningas Cogon". People may be stirred up by events such as corruption expose driving them to participate with so much zeal in a "Communal Action", but when the dusts settle down and a new administration is installed, it is almost a mystery for our culture why it won't take too long before corruption begins to take root again. We have been caught in this seemingly unendless cycle of corruption that our nation moves one huge step forward when a "Communal Action" succeeds, but so many steps backward afterwards.
I only hope and pray that if we must take our next "Communal Action", it would not just be a huge step forward but also followed by so many steps forward so that our nation will finally be able to break the cycle of corruption. Let us start this very gigantic first step in each of our own individual selves. Let us all be honest and righteous in our simple and everyday lives. In short, as a nation let us all return to the Lord by renewing our lives through the changing of our hearts.
According to their plan, after some days of stay in Hong Kong in an "official" business, he was supposed to proceed to London to further lengthen his days away from the country in order to make more difficult the serving of the senate's arrest warrant to him. But by some reason, he was not able to go to London and instead he decided to return home. He communicated with his DENR boss and a plan was made concerning his security upon his return.
Few people who were interested of Jun's return knew about the schedule of his arrival and so they eagerly waited for him at the arrival area of the airport terminal -- among them were some members of his family, some media people, some senate personnel, and some security agents.
Jun's ordeal started upon his arrival at the NAIA. Because he was not made aware of the "true" security arrangement which the PNP planned for his arrival, and since no one also of those non-admin-allied people (who were waiting at the arrival area) were able to anticipate the PNP's "basic genius", of course as can be expected, they were all foolishly caught by surprise -- including Jun himself -- and the rest is history. (Kayo na lang ang mag ala PNP "secret service"!)
I could just imagine how Jun silently panic within himself when the PNP agents whom he did not knew intercepted him while he was yet walking inside the passenger passage tube and was quickly escorted to another way that obviously did not led to the terminal's official arrival area. If you were in his situation at that moment, what thoughts would have come to your mind? (Considering that he had some sort of anticipation that something bad might happen to him since he received death threats.)
Is the incident that happened to Jun upon his arrival a case of kidnapping, an abduction, or just a case of the PNP providing security to someone who requested for it? Well, like many of you, I too have an impression about it. Since the Senate is conducting an investigation of the case, let us leave to the proper authorities the responsibility of calling it for what it really is. But whatever the outcome is -- be it kidnapping or security -- it is clear that people from the administration wanted Jun Lozada not to testify in the senate investigation on the NBN project scandal. It is of course but logical. If you are a Malacañang operative or a hard administration blind loyal supporter, what would you do of someone or somebody like Jun Lozada or Romulo Neri?
Let me digress just a little bit from the topic. This is just an impression or perhaps an observation that is primarily meant to provide some sort of feedback to our media people because the nation is greatly relying on you. To our national media (especially their field personnel), this incident shows that most of you still lack the skill (if not the training) needed to be able to get substantial hard-to-get information. You rely only on the easy and obvious ways or means. No wonder the people are not able to react on your news appropriately and profoundly. If you want to catch the PNP, think like the PNP. You know what I mean? And also, I noticed that in many of the important press conferences called by people of the government concerning crucial issues, many of the representatives that media agencies send lack the wits or reasoning skills needed to engage their subjects more effectively in order to create positive impact on the viewers that will help them form right opinions. Not all of the viewers are smart enough to be able to fill up for the missing pieces of information that will complete the whole picture. (Salamat na lang at ginawa'n n'yo ng full TV coverage ang Senate investigation.)
Will national interest prevail over competition? Does our national media agencies lack cooperation and coordination among themselves especially in times of crucial national events? What about national media's performance in the Manila Peninsula Hotel stand-off? Well we saw what happened, but maybe we will save the comments and observations about that event at some other time. Some months ago, two of our major news agencies are fighting over some TV ratings anomaly. Basically we could also see the bad side of our culture in it -- like the NBN project scandal -- graft, bribery, or corruption. It seems we ourselves are also doing what we are criticizing and covering live.
Back to Jun Lozada's situation, we could only appreciate the great difficulty he is in right now -- like the difficulty experienced by his good friend NEDA ex-chief Romulo Neri who is a more vital witness than Jun. But Neri was being "professional" for the moment and temporarily saved himself from such further predicaments that Jun is undergoing right now. Neri gained some fleeting relief whereas Jun is suffering. When Neri testified in the senate months ago, he earned the people's respect much like Jun today. But when Neri turned "professional", he gained the people's condemnation. Yet I still hope and believe that in the days ahead he will be stirred up once again by the Holy Spirit to resume and finish once and for all the commendable thing he started. Then the two Jedis will become one in their struggle for honesty and their combined strength will become a very formidable force that the nation can join its force with and rally behind the cause of "Moral Revolution" against the power of the dark side.
In connection with the events happening recently in our nation, our religious leaders have called for a "Communal Action" aimed at unseating the current administration for its unconfessed corruptions. As one saying goes, "Every journey must begin with a single step". For a "Communal Action" to increase its chance of succeeding, it must involve the largest number of community members as possible and its first step must be started the RIGHT way in the RIGHT time. To those who called for the action, have you considered if it is already the right time to do such action? Have you prepared the hearts of your community members and are they ready enough? What specific first step should be taken? Who will be the new leader and is he not corrupt and is he fit for the leadership? Those are just basic questions one must ask before he calls for such an action, and not just call for it for the sake of taking advantage of the current situation (especially if your role is more of a caller rather than a front liner).
In our history as a nation, so far only two of such actions were able to achieve some degree of success but both fall short of their real objective which is sustained progress and prosperity brought about by a consistent and a continual righteous and honest governance. It is always relatively easy to initiate a "Communal Action" but it is very hard (if not impossible for a culture like ours) to advance it to its full objective because of a well-known filipino trait "Ningas Cogon". People may be stirred up by events such as corruption expose driving them to participate with so much zeal in a "Communal Action", but when the dusts settle down and a new administration is installed, it is almost a mystery for our culture why it won't take too long before corruption begins to take root again. We have been caught in this seemingly unendless cycle of corruption that our nation moves one huge step forward when a "Communal Action" succeeds, but so many steps backward afterwards.
I only hope and pray that if we must take our next "Communal Action", it would not just be a huge step forward but also followed by so many steps forward so that our nation will finally be able to break the cycle of corruption. Let us start this very gigantic first step in each of our own individual selves. Let us all be honest and righteous in our simple and everyday lives. In short, as a nation let us all return to the Lord by renewing our lives through the changing of our hearts.
