Mike in the News

In this page we feature current headlines and news about Mike Defensor. We want our readers to pay attention to his activities and how he is being treated by the media. We welcome comments and punditry. We engage in dialogues and rigorous debates when necessary.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Defensor to drop perjury case vs Lozada - report

SOPHIA M. DEDACE, GMANews.TV
05/28/2009 | 10:14 AM

MANILA, Philippines – Saying he does not expect a fair trial, former presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor on Thursday said he would not pursue the perjury case against Rodolfo Lozada Jr., the whistleblower in the allegedly anomalous national broadband network project with China's ZTE Corp.

Radio dzBB’s Carlo Mateo said that Defensor sent a letter to Manila Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 26 Presiding Judge Jorge Emmanuel Lorredo indicating that he is not interested to pursue the case.

Defensor, an ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, made the move on the same day that the court was set to hold the pre-trial on the perjury case.
The report quoted the defeated senatorial bet in the 2007 elections as saying that he is not expecting that the court proceedings would be impartial.

Lorredo had earlier advised Defensor to drop the case because President Arroyo and First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo might be dragged into the proceedings by Lozada’s defense team by invoking certain provisions of the Rules of Court, in which case the court may be compelled to grant such request.

But Lorredo came under fire following his supposed “unsolicited advice."
Lorredo’s remark that the perjury case against Lozada might be a prelude to martial rule also drew criticism.

Even as he reportedly intends to drop the charge, Defensor said he is still confident that he could get a fair trial against Lozada in another venue.
Defensor filed the perjury case in connection with Lozada’s claim that government authorities had abducted him upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport February 5 last year from Kong.

Lozada had alleged that the "abduction" was to prevent him from appearing before the Senate hearing on the $329.48-million broadband deal mess.

The government entered into the allegedly overpriced deal with China’s Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment Inc. (ZTE) but President Arroyo subsequently aborted the agreement at the height of the controversy in 2007.

High-profile personalities like the First Gentleman and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair Benjamin Abalos were dragged into the mess. Both Mr. Arroyo and Abalos have denied the allegations against them. - GMANews.TV
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    Kay tamis ng ating samahan sa lungkot at kaligayahan. Tunay na kaibigan, kasamang maaasahan. Salamat at tayo'y may pinagsamahan. Salamat, tunay kong kaibigan

    (Salamat, by The Dawn)

    Mike has always been dear to us since we were kids. He’s a good friend who came running when we needed him. Mike was the go-to guy even before he became Cong. Mike, and then Sec. Defensor. Many of us knew he was destined for public service. Mike was the consummate politician, a trait he developed since grade school. We thought he would go on to become president, if he didn’t disappoint the fickle Filipino public.

    But it seems he has. So much so that he is vilified by the media at every opportunity. His actions are always placed within the perspective of his relationship with an unpopular president. Justifiable, though harsh.

    So we set up this blog. Some of us have worked with him and have seen him make what we thought were good decisions. But some of us were also there when we thought he made wrong ones. But that is how a man is made -- by the choices he makes.

    As his friends, the best we can do is stand by him and try to help everyone else see things from a different light.