MANILA, Philippines -- When their father was thrust in the eye of a political storm, one of his five children remarked: “Hero kasi niya si Rizal, gusto yata niyang magpabaril sa Luneta at ipagtayo ng rebulto (Because Rizal is his hero, it seems he wants to be shot at the Luneta and be given a monument).”At his explosive coming-out party Thursday, ZTE witness Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Imperial Lozada Jr. portrayed himself as a mere “probinsyanong Intsik.” But Lozada, 45, has always amazed his family, friends and coworkers with his colorful personality. In his resumé, Lozada described himself as someone who thinks out of the box and lives by “four Ls” -- live, love, learn, leave a legacy. With his expertise ranging from telecommunications to education, environment and alternative fuels, Lozada had a successful 20-year career in the private sector before his friendship with former National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) chief Romulo Neri brought him to the government and placed him in the middle of the $329-million ZTE scandal. The 11th of 13 children, Jun was the most resourceful in the big Lozada household, his sister Carmen fondly recalled. “He was the brother who would always say ‘no problem.’ He’s a very happy person at siya yung magaling magdelihensya,” Carmen told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net. Carmen said her family was not exactly rich. Their parents, who were both half-Chinese but were born in Ligao town, Albay province, owned a furniture shop. Pretty comfortable “We were pretty comfortable. But because we were a big family, there were hard times. We just knew how to scrimp,” said Carmen, who described her family as close-knit. Nonoy, as his family calls Lozada, would always find ways to raise his school allowance. “Pati barkada ng mga kapatid namin nadedelihensyahan nya (He was able to get money even from our siblings’ friends),” Carmen recalled, laughing. When he moved to Manila from Ligao for high school, the diminutive Nonoy fell prey to the school bullies at Aquinas school. “Napakabulilit niya (He was so small), I think he grew only after high school,” Carmen quipped. “Since he was too small and a newcomer, naturally he was bullied. So what he did was he befriended the big boys who were not very good (academically). He did their assignments and served as their tutor, so they gave him baon (lunch money) and protection.” Big dreams As a little boy Nonoy had big dreams and wanted to travel the world with his family. He would point to countries on the world map and promise to his siblings: “When I become rich, we will go there.” He fulfilled the promise to the sister who paid his college tuition. Voracious reader Carmen said Nonoy was a voracious reader. His favorite books are about the national hero Jose Rizal and technical books. Lozada would later earn an Electronics and Communication Engineering Degree from the University of Santo Tomas, which also conferred on him the Engineering Centennial Award last year. He loves cars, and golf, and lives at Greenwoods Executive Village in Pasig City. Lozada has five children with his wife Violeta -- John Moses, 14, Paul Abraham, 12, Ruth Madeleine, 11 and twin boys David Thomas and Peter Jacob, 5. Technical tech-man Vicente “Enteng” Romano, convenor of the Black & White Movement who has also been a friend of several years, said: “He’s an idealist. That’s why he is in government because he believes he can introduce reforms from within.” “He’s a very glib person, madaldal. He’s your typical tech-man. He’s not confrontational,” said Michael Defensor, former environment secretary and presidential chief of staff. Defensor met Lozada through Romulo Neri and retired Gen. Victor Corpus when he (Defensor) was appointed environment secretary in August 2004. Alternative fuel Corpus was chair of Natural Resources Development Corp., an attached agency to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Lozada was executive director. Lozada brokered a reconciliation meeting between Defensor and Corpus, after they quarreled over a project which prompted Corpus’ resignation. That early, Defensor said he, Lozada and Neri had been discussing the prospects of jatropha as an alternative fuel. When Defensor decided to create Philippine Forest Corp. (Philforest) to deal with the development of jatropha, Neri asked if he would appoint Lozada head of the agency. Upon Defensor’s recommendation, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo endorsed Lozada’s appointment as president and CEO of Philforest which is a government-owned and -controlled corporation. A team On the side, Lozada served as Neri’s technical consultant for projects being evaluated by NEDA, including the National Broadband Network (NBN) project. “They are a team, Jun is the technical side of Romy. He is very competent in IT and telecommunications so he understands all these technical details that Romy doesn’t understand,” said businessman Jose “Joey” de Venecia III. Before joining the government, Lozada worked as a computer engineer for Integrated Computer Systems Inc. and joined Saudi Soft, a distributor of IBM computers in Saudi Arabia, in 1985. In 1988 he put up his own company, Infomatrix, a computer distributor and service company which had clients like Asian Development Bank, Far East Bank and PriceWaterhouse. The following year, he joined Alcatel Telecom Philippines as head of the business development group. In 1996, he co-founded Net Curricula Inc., described as the first IT integrator helping schools integrate IT in teaching. He set up another company in 1999, New Economy Enterprises Inc. providing consultancy to big telecom firms, and in 2002 he put up Galileo Educational Corp. which provides training for IT education. Ironically, he is a member of the Organisasyon ng mga Galit sa Magnanakaw (OGSM), a group formed by victims of cell phone theft. Four Ls His resumé says Lozada subscribes to four Ls: Live (“He lives life to the fullest. He balances ... life [between] work, family and golf. It is important for him that he does a good deed every day). Love (He loves the people around him and he is also loved by these people. He may have a hectic schedule but he always finds time for his wife, children, relatives, friends and peers.) Learn (His passion to learn has always been there. He loves reading and surfing the Net ... the secret why he always has fresh ideas. He would always think out of the box and of ways to achieve a win-win solution. He is a person who never runs out of new things, new ways and superb ideas. His uniqueness lies in his unending passion to share what he has learned.) Leave a Legacy (He wants to make a difference in our economy, environment and education.) I’m no De Venecia On Thursday, as he told his story, Lozada said he was a nobody compared to the personalities involved in the scandal. “Probinsyanong Intsik lang ako eh ... I am not a De Venecia that even if he doesn’t work for a few years he can still feed his family. I’m not an Abalos who has Mandaluyong as his kingdom.” With the storm he has generated, he has come a long way. | 
