Airport exec: No security procedure violated in Lozada arrival

There was no violation of airport security measures in the way the arrival of ZTE witness Rodolfo Lozada Jr was handled last Feb. 5, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) deputy general manager for security Angel Atutubo insisted Monday.

Testifying before the Senate hearing on the ZTE deal, Atutubo said the Senate sergeant-at-arms was late in informing him of Lozada's arrival Tuesday last week.

"There was no violation of security procedure or any breach of security. I am proud to say airport security complied with international aviation standards," Atutubo said.

Atutubo said that he personally met Lozada, who he even allowed to stay at the restroom for 10 minutes. He added that Lozada even voluntarily gave his baggage to one Rodolfo Valeroso of the PNP Aviation Security Group.

Atutubo also said that all the while Lozada was "walking freely."

Atutubo said he was at the time accompanied by MIAA deputy for operations Octavio Lina to "ensure the safety, security and convenience of passengers."

"I was never involved nor did I receive any call from the Senate sergeant-at-arms that priests were at the airport to meet Mr Lozada," he said.

Atutubo also clarified that no one met Lozada carrying their firearms. He denied force was used in fetching the embattled ZTE witness.

Meanwhile, lawyer Antonio Bautista insisted Lozada was not under duress when he signed an affidavit claiming he did not have any contact with any official or politician with regards on the ZTE broadband deal.

Bautista said Lozada signed the affidavit, supposedly for the "comfort of Malacañang," in his office on February 6. "He signed it in my office. And his first statement to media was that he regretted signing it. He was not under duress," Bautista said. - GMANews.TV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more