his partymate at Lakas-CMD, Prospero Nograles of Davao City, succeeded him as speaker. On February 5, as the Senate arresting team waited at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) during Lozada's arrival, Lozada was taken by unidentified people "out of town" and Lozada's kin appealed for help on his whereabouts. On February 7, Lozada finally surfaced as police took him to La Salle Green Hills, Mandaluyong. Lozada linked Mike Arroyo and Abalos to the ZTE scandal. On the same day, the Supreme Court stopped the Senate from arresting Neri, ordering a status quo; Neri then resurfaced after the threat of arrest was taken off. The next day, on a Philippine Senate hearing, Lozada confirmed his NEDA boss Romulo Neri's testimony that Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chairman Benjamin Abalos and Arroyo's husband Mike Arroyo were behind the kickbacks in the deal. Lozada's statement was made after he was "abducted" on the orders of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) secretary Lito Atienza, Neri, former Presidential Management Staff head Michael Defensor, Secretary for Special Concerns Remedios Poblador and Deputy Executive Secretary Manuel Gaite. On February 11, upon continuation of Senate hearings, the government denied on kidnapping Lozada. Lozada claimed he was driven around Metro Manila and even reached Los Baños, Laguna, before he was transported to the La Salle Green Hills seminary. According to DENR Secretary Atienza, Lozada, who is his boss as the Philippine Forest Corp. is under the DENR, asked for his help as "he feared for his life" as he returned from Hong Kong. Joey de Venecia later claimed that ZTE advanced US$1 million to Abalos; senators pointed out that this qualifies as "plunder" under Philippine criminal law since the advance was given when the foreign exchange was at about PHP 50 to $1, thus equaling the PHP 50 million floor for plunder. Deputy Executive Secretary Manuel Gaite appeared on the February 26 hearing. He had previously said that the P500,000 he gave to Lozada's brother was for Lozada's expenses while staying at Hong Kong. Gaite said he "can't rationally justify" the reason why he gave Lozada the hefty amount. He said that his action "was moved by my conscience and my faith." Lozada earlier claimed that the P500,000 was a bribe. The Philippine Court of Appeals dismissed Jun Lozada's writ of amparo petition for lack of evidence on his claim that there were threats to his life and