P.5 M from private sources Gaite

MANILA, Philippines – They’re now singing an amended tune.

Deputy Executive Secretary Manuel Gaite yesterday said the P500,000 he gave Rodolfo Lozada Jr. through his brother was a “loan” put together by “private sources” who wanted to help Lozada but chose to remain anonymous.

“It’s private money. It’s not government money so let’s see what the rules of the Senate are. It was held there, they would like to use it as evidence; the owner of the money (may want to) get that fund,” Gaite said.

In his statement, Gaite accused Lozada of misleading him into believing that he badly needed help while in London since he was running out of funds and was very stressed.

Gaite said Lozada texted him that it was cold where he was – leading him to assume that the witness was in London – and that he had no winter clothing and was running out of funds.

Believing that Lozada was in dire straits, he and his wife raised the money and gave the cash to Lozada’s brother Owe the next day and made him sign an acknowledgment receipt, according to Gaite.

The Palace lawyer however said it turned out that Lozada was only in Hong Kong and returned to Manila the next day.

“With the way Jun Lozada has twisted my response to his personal appeal, deceived me about his dire consequences, publicly and repeatedly dragged my name into a controversy I have no personal knowledge about, I regret that my act of compassion for him was taken advantage of, and was used to suit his story,” Gaite said.

“I believed him, I pitied him. That text came at about 2 a.m. of Feb. 3. When my wife saw the text and asked me about it, she also felt pity for him and asked if there is any way I could help him,” he said.

Gaite also stressed that he did not seek out Lozada but it was the latter who sought his legal assistance through Commission on Higher Education chairman Romulo Neri.

He said the information about Lozada’s travel to London, and not Hong Kong, came from the witness after the former explained to him that one of the valid reasons for him not to appear in the Senate on Jan. 30 was a previous schedule that cannot be cancelled.

Malacañang, on the other hand, announced that they will not stop Gaite from appearing in the Senate if he will be invited to testify again regarding the P500,000 he gave Lozada.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Gaite had nothing to hide and had properly explained himself in his statement on Tuesday regarding the money he gave to Lozada.

“Secretary Gaite, being our senior legal officer, can very well take care of himself. If he is called for the hearing, he will attend the hearing. He will attend should he be invited,” he said.

Ermita said according to Gaite, the money came from private sources who wanted to assist Lozada but on condition of anonymity.

He noted that Gaite stressed that the money was meant to help Lozada and did not come from government funds. Gaite also said on Tuesday he expected Lozada to pay him back

During the Senate hearing on Monday, Lozada turned over the cash to the senators, saying he did not touch it.

‘Lame excuse’

However, senators doubted yesterday Gaite’s new pronouncement, saying it was a “lame excuse.”

Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan said Gaite’s excuse is “implausible, if not downright unbelievable.”

“How can a Deputy Executive Secretary, considering his position, easily shell out a huge amount of half a million?” said Pangilinan.

“If media reports are to be believed that it was a loan, that is very hard to believe. And since when did Gaite engage in the loan industry? Can he afford to do such with his salary as government employee?” the majority leader added.

Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson also found Gaite’s gesture questionable.

“So Gaite is now a lending institution? I want to find out if he has a Central Bank license,” Pimentel said.

Lacson said Malacañang should give a better excuse.

“Malacañang is slowly sinking on the ZTE issue if that’s how shallow the explanation and defense of their officials to cover the truth,” Lacson said.

But administration Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile thinks there is nothing wrong about it.

“I will believe him if they are good friends,” Enrile told reporters. He added that he is also generous in loaning money to his friends provided that they keep their promises to pay him back.

Pangilinan questioned the veracity of the claim, saying that a person would not normally shell out such an enormous amount to another government official from another agency. – with Christina Mendez