Lozada ready to yield?

MANILA, Philippines - Is graft whistle-blower Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr. about to yield?

Sources yesterday revealed Lozada would surrender to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) headed by Chief Superintendent Federico Castro as officer-in charge.

But details about Lozada’s plan to surrender were not immediately available. An arrest warrant has been issued by the Sandiganbayan against Lozada on graft charges.

He had sought refuge with the nuns of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP) after unidentified armed men went to his home several times, and took pictures of his house.

The PNP said earlier they would secure Lozada, who had claimed to be under threat from still unidentified men.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo said the task of the PNP is to protect every individual from harm, regardless of whether he or she has a pending criminal case in court.

“General rule is that the PNP, if there is a threat, we have to check and to protect the person. If there is really a threat to that person, even if he had a warrant, we have to ensure his safety,” he said.

Lozada, who gained prominence when he revealed irregularities in the national broadband network (NBN) contract with Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE Corp., said six armed men in civilian clothes went looking for him in his house in Pasig City on Saturday and Monday.

The last time the men knocked on Lozada’s door, they introduced themselves as postal workers. Lozada said he and his family had to leave and take refuge with the AMRSP.

The Sandiganbayan issued a warrant of arrest for Lozada on graft charges for allegedly granting leasehold rights over public lands to his brother and to a private firm with connections to him and his wife when he was the president of Philippine Forest Corp. in 2007.

The case, Lozada said, was an offshoot of his exposé on the anomalous NBN-ZTE deal in 2008.

Cerbo, meanwhile, said he would check with the CIDG if they have received a copy of the arrest warrant against Lozada.