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Seeking to sway Cebuanos to God-knows-what, former National Broadband Network (NBN) project consultant Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. visited Cebu yesterday and did what he does best ? yap. That, and bask in the infamy that he so giddily accepts.
But his visit to Cebu and the actions (and reactions) of those who support him definitely did more harm than good to whatever cause he is pushing. Speaking at the University of San Carlos, he again said his cause is to ?seek the truth,? but his trips obviously have a ?down with Arroyo? flavor to it. If his intention really was to seek the truth, why do he and his followers ostracize those who would ask him questions contrary to their cause? ?Ostracize? is even putting it mildly, because instead of answering those questions by simply clearly explaining the ?truth? he claims to push for, his followers instead kick out and threaten to beat up the person asking the question, while Lozada does nothing to stop it. So what if a person asks questions that imply things contrary to Lozada?s ?cause?? If Lozada and his ilk do intend to seek the truth, shouldn?t he and his followers listen to all sides ? even highly critical questions ? to find out what the truth is? But what Lozada and company are doing is not seeking the truth, it?s to press on people what they believe to be the truth. Whether or not it is actually the truth is a matter of debate, and it?s a debate they probably think they can?t win, otherwise they would have simply provided counter-arguments to critical questions. Instead, they kick out the person asking the question. That?s the kind of reaction one would get from people who know their arguments can?t hold water, much less the truth. The truth hurts. And Lozada and company were obviously hurt.
That person who was kicked out was right. It WAS quite obvious what that (not-so-) open forum was all about, and it was not about seeking the truth. It was not even a good attempt at pushing what Lozada thinks is the truth.
What was it about then?
Hero worship. About how those foolish enough to take Lozada?s ?truth? at face value, and worse, how Lozada just loves to bask in the glory and praise people are giving him. If he and his followers really are seeking the truth, they?d be out trying to back up their ?truth? with hard evidence, not jumping from city to city saying the same thing over and over again.
Besides, looking back, should the guy really be the poster boy for ?seeking the truth?? Seriously, would he really have come out in the open about the corruption in the NBN deal had it not been uncovered by Jose De Venecia III first? He?s not the whistleblower here, Jose III is. What Lozada has done is merely turn his coat after realizing he?s on the losing side. He himself admitted that had the NBN deal pushed through, he was set to gain millions. Now that the jig is up and there are no more millions to gain, he?s using his knowledge of the underhanded goings-on of the deal to highlight the blame away from himself and towards his masters, painting it as an attack of conscience. A jab of spite, more like it. I don?t know what?s worse, that dirty people like him are not prosecuted, or that there are many who would take his ?repentance? at face value and literally fly his face on banners.
Where once I believed the guy when he first spoke to the Senate, today, I now completely doubt his credibility and intentions. If the guy is indeed the repentant sinner that he claims to be, he should hole himself up and keep out of sight, not go around feigning self-righteousness and calling others to ?tell the truth? when he himself was never inclined to do until the NBN corruption was revealed. All the dirt he?s throwing at other people simply show just how much dirt he has in stock in the first place. From my knowledge and experience, genuine repentant sinners don?t walk around with big, odd smiles on their faces, no matter how happy other people are to see them. They don?t fly around from city to city as if he?s a showbiz personality basking in the attention of his first Philippine tour. They don?t go on vaunted speeches about ?truth? then threaten to lynch those who question this ?truth.? Genuine repentant sinners keep a low profile, and do as much good as they can without taking a single iota of credit for it.
And more importantly, genuine repentant sinners don?t lambaste God?s church just because the church doesn?t agree with what the sinner is doing. First, he criticizes the Catholic Church for not making a stand, then when the church does make a stand, he criticizes it because it?s contrary to his personal goals? ?Archdiocese of Malacañang?? How dare he?! And if the church supported him? Would he so readily call Catholicism in Cebu the Archdiocese of Lozada? I bet not, because people like Lozada never speak disparagingly of those who support them even if their supporters do obvious wrong, but will criticize to the hilt those who do not see things their way. Then again, with the size of his ego now, he may soon think of himself as the Philippines? messiah anyway. An Archdiocese of Lozada may not be far behind.
And that?s really what Lozada is all about now. Not any sort of search for truth, not any defense of the truth. Whenever I see the guy?s face nowadays, I don?t see the ?hero? many people claim him to be. All I can see is ego. And by the looks of the sparse attendance of the open forums for him in Cebu, seems I?m not the only one who thinks that way. And that is why any intelligent Cebuano (fortunately, that?s most of us, as Cardinal Vidal said), will not, and did not, welcome him in Cebu: Cebuanos don?t like egos. Never have, never will. And with an ego as bloated as Lozada?s, it will be a long time before he?ll ever be welcome here.
