Jun Lozada

Political corruption is when government officials use their governmental powers for illegitimate private gain. What is wrong with corruption ? “Corruption deadens the soul. It robs you of hope. Many people think that corruption only steals the money of the people but what they don’t realize is that it kills the spirit, “ Jun says ruefully.

For people to feel and repeat openly that ‘ wala na mangyayari diyan; huwag na tayo manggulo. Let’s just be silent , ‘ saddens Jun Lozada. “ Those voices are of a people who have already lost their hope. Those are the voices of a nation that has already lost faith and hope in its own people. That is sad ; it is worse than death. You are physically alive but your soul is dead. They eat, take a rest, go to work, sleep then die. That’s it. They tell the next generation : bahala na kayo sa buhay ninyo. I am sure it will be a worse life than the ones we had but bahala na kayo. That is really sad when you can not even feel pain. That is what is happening now.”

“Without hope, the spirit is gone. We are a country without spirit.” Jun says with sorrow.

The Philippines is a rich country. Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada, the former CEO of the Philippine Forest Corporation, states that our natural resources include 14 million hectares of idle land. If one hectare per family is given, there will be 14 million families with livelihood. “The country is rich but the spirit is broken. No matter how well you are, if your spirit is broken…” his statement tails off. “ This is one nation that I would say the spirit is completely broken. We have to mend it back. “

Ever since February 7, 2008 , Jun Lozada has not been home. His testimony in the Senate hearings regarding the overpricing of the ZTE deal implicated FG Mike Arroyo and former Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. “I am taking a lot of risks. I have hurt so many people who are still in power. “

Jun realizes that we can not go on just complaining and complaining. He relates our society’s attitude to the classic story of the Emperor’s New Clothes. The emperor, drunk with power, was given an invisible suit by unscrupulous merchants who claimed that only the righteous can see the suit. But the emperor, being not righteous, pretended that he could see the robe. So he was parading in his kingdom stark naked and everyone was so scared to point out to him that he had no clothes on. It took a little boy to have the courage to point out the fact that the emperor was naked. Only then did the people laugh and ridicule the emperor for being naked.

“ Here we are trying to pretend that there are some institutions that are working. We know that they are lying but few have the courage to confront their lies. According to the last survey, 60 per cent of Filipinos believe my testimony. I did not seek out to be famous but now that is the price I have to pay,” Jun said.

When Jun, who is an electronics and communications engineer, is not holed up in his rooms in La Salle, Greenhills, he attends forums across the country. The message he shares are painful reflections. “ In this country now , truth telling is a very costly endeavor; should you know someone who would like to tell the truth, you should encourage them to tell the truth. When I wanted to tell the truth, no one encouraged me to tell the truth. Don’t you find it so ironic? I had to defend my desire to tell the truth. “


In Jun’s view, three lessons stand out which he is eager for Filipinos to realize:
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The constitutional institutions in this country do not work. “There is no justice system in the Philippines now. What we have is a legal system. Even if it is not good, even if it is not fair, even if it is not just, as long as it is legal, then it is passed. The institutions where you are suppposed to run and seek justice are not there.”
The second lesson is that in this country , we welcome corruption in our midst and have completely accepted it. When people say that there is someone stealing and having a different lifestyle after going into power, we accept it. And when that person reaches out to give us some money, then we are quick to say, ‘ oh he is good pala. Ok pala. Pretty soon everyone is like that. We don’t just welcome it, we have accepted it. From getting a license that we can just pay off …
The third lesson is that truth is like light, especially in a dark place. When you try to shine a light , you will be the first one that the glare will be on. The light will expose all your dirt so you have to accept it. It is a lesson in humility. You can not be selective with your truth. But just because Jun has participated in some sins , he didn’t want to be involved in bigger sins against the people. “ If I have to admit my past sins, yes , I will. I don’t want to be part of the bigger and bigger evil. “


With 89 million Filipinos searching for what to do to transform the country, Jun recommends “Let us be truthful.” The 45-year old crusader believes that each individual needs to start by telling the truth for without truth, there is no justice and without justice there is no peace.

Truth alliances are starting to form in churches, youth groups and society. The movement to proclaim the truth was re-ignited by Jun Lozada. “We can not just kneel down and pray. We need to act. We can start by individually telling the truth. “

Email : aurorawilson@gmail.com
Bold : “Corruption deadens the soul. It robs you of hope. Many people think that corruption only steals the money of the people but what they don’t realize is that it kills the spirit, “ Jun says ruefully

Photo caption : Our Noted hero, Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, is honored for his courage to testify in the Senate hearings about the overpricing on the natioal broadband network of the Philippine government. He now occupies his time with speaking engagements in schools and forums across the country.


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