THE Office of the Ombudsman upheld with finality the corruption charges against NBN-ZTE deal whistleblower Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada for lack of evidence that could overturn the previous decision against him.

In a six-page resolution, the Ombudsman junked Lozada’s defense on his graft charges over the alleged award of leasehold right to his brother and to a company, which he purportedly owned.

The Ombudsman accused Lozada and his brother, Jose Orlando Lozada, in the first graft case involving the award of a 6.59-hectare leasehold right in December 2009 under the Lupang Hinirang program of Philippine Forest Corp. (PhilForest).

Lozada said that the complainant in the case, Erwin Santos, did not offer any strong allegation in his
affidavit because he was not in charge of the program and was not privy to the meetings and records of the PhilForest board of directors.

“The documents attached to the complaint [against me] contain no ‘smoking guns.’ They do not show any wrongdoing, or crime. Santos’ statement is full of hearsay, speculation and mere conclusions that have no probative value,” Lozada said.

But according to the Ombudsman ruling, the whistleblower to the $329-million national broadband network deal did not inhibit, “instead, actively participated” in the signing and awarding of the right to his brother.

“The purpose of participation was to ensure that his brother would be awarded with the said public land,” the Ombudsman ruled, considering that the issuance bypassed prescribed application process.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said that Lozada did not proffer any new evidence in his motion for reconsideration that would assail the agency’s earlier decision to file charges against him.

The Ombudsman said that a motion for reconsideration can only assail a previous resolution if there are new evidence discovered or there were irregularities before reaching the decision, which Lozada did not present.

“None of these grounds is present in these cases. The arguments raised by the respondents were already addressed and exhaustively discussed,” the resolution added.

Lozada is also indicted for purportedly awarding leasehold rights to Transforma Quinta Inc., which he and his wife, Maria Violeta, represented.

The resolution stated that Lozada himself admitted under oath at a Senate Blue-Ribbon Committee investigation that “he was dealing with himself when he leased out land to Transforma.”

“In sum, the motion does not present any newly discovered evidence or material arguments of sufficient weight and persuasiveness to warrant consideration of the assailed pronouncements of [the Ombudsman],” the resolution said.

At present, Lozada has entered a “not guilty” plea in his two-count graft charge as part of his conditional arraignment before traveling abroad.