Palace exec denies sending Lozada abroad

Deputy Executive Secretary Manuel Gaite on Monday denied sending ZTE witness Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr out of the country late last month so that he can not testify on the Senate hearing on the botched broadband deal.

Testifying before the Senate, Gaite said there was no instruction coming from him to send Lozada to London on January 30, the day Lozada was supposed to face a Senate probe on the ZTE mess.

"I did not instruct him to go abroad. I did not instruct him to go to Hong Kong. I did not know that he had a conference. He was the one who informed me that he had this travel to London. I did not prepare his travel papers, nor did I prepare his travel arrangements," Gaite told senators, adding his only role was to assist Lozada legally.

Gaite said Lozada asked him if it is possible to find a way to challenge legally the subpoena issued by the Senate against him.

"I said the only way that you can challenge the subpoena, attending the Senate is either if you are sick or in dispose or if you have a valid excuse of say a prior commitment that you cannot cancel. Otherwise, you have to attend the Senate hearing," Gaite said.

Environment Secretary Jose "Lito" Atienza, who was also present in Monday's hearing, said Lozada went to London to attend a seminar. He said he was merely notified of Lozada's plans.

Lozada was former head of the Philippine Forest Corp., an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). - GMANews.TV

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