MANILA, April 22, 2009-One of the influential Catholic Church institutions slammed as "unjust" the arrest warrant issued against whistleblower Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada for alleged perjury crimes.
The warrant is "undeserved" for someone who just exposed an alleged anomalous government project, the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) said.
"This order is grossly unjust considering that the charge for which Lozada is being arrested is the crime of perjury or lying under oath," the group said.
"The arrest order is a brazen abuse of power by this (Arroyo) administration to punish Lozada for having the courage to tell the people the whole truth about the state sponsored corrupt practices," it said.
The AMRSP revealed that last April 14, a Manila Regional Trial Court resolution order for the issuance of an arrest warrant for Lozada was served to him at the La Salle Greenhills for the crime of perjury filed by former Environment Secretary Mike Defensor, a well known Arroyo political ally.
The case, the AMRSP added, has previously been dismissed by the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court for lack of probable cause.
The group claimed, however, that the case was reversed by Manila RTC branch 11 Judge Jorge Jurado upon the appeal of Defensor's counsel, the Fortun Narvasa law firm.
"This arrest order is a warning to other people both inside and outside of the government who have knowledge of important information related to the practice of corruption of people in power to shut up or else," the ARMSP also said.
"We deplore the use of the courts and law enforcement agencies in the continuing harassment of Jun Lozada including his wife (who was ordered arrested by the Manila MTC upon the charges of the PNP) and other family members who are now facing a total of 16 charges for cases, ranging from dishonesty, perjury to theft cases," it added.
Lozada, an electronics engineer who was hired as a consultant for former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri on the US$329-million ZTE deal, is a key witness NBN controversy.
The AMRSP has given refuge to Lozada since he revealed his alleged personal knowledge about the alleged anomalous NBN project in February last year. (CBCPNews)