n February 6, Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada began his testimony before the Philippine Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigating the now infamous ZTE-NBN deal between the Arroyo Government and the People's Republic of China. Under questioning by the Senators, Lozada admitted that had the deal gone through, the Filipino people would have ended up paying US$329 million for a project that was at best worth only US$262 million.

According to Lozada, the driving force behind the project was former COMELEC Commissioner Benjamin Abalos who stood to make a whopping US$130 million in commissions out of the deal. Corroborating the testimony of Jose "Joey" de Venecia—who first exposed the anomalous project—Lozada stated under oath that the President's husband, Mike Arroyo was part of the Abalos camp.

The Philippine Senate, whose members are mostly with the opposition, is providing Lozada, it's star witness, round-the-clock protection for as long as necessary. If Lozada's explosive testimony is seen by the majority of Filipinos as credible, than it could mean the beginning of the end for the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) Administration, that of late seems to have been rocked by one scandal after another. Can GMA weather the ZTE-NBN scandal and emerge unscathed? The next few days may hold the answer.