MANILA. Former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. denied that he threatened the life of Rodolfo Noel "Jun" Lozada Jr. and claimed that Lozada even went back to the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City several times after the threat was allegedly made on January 18, 2007.

Abalos said Lozada, the Senate's star witness on the controversial $329-million contract with ZTE Corp. for the national broadband network (NBN), went back to Wack Wack several times in February, 2007 after the death threat was allegedly made.

"Sinabi daw niya tinakot ko siya noong January 18 (He claims I threatened him on January 18). At that time, I was still president of Wack Wack," Abalos said during a live television interview at the ABS-CBN studios in Quezon City. Lozada was also being interviewed live, although he was at La Salle Greenhills in Mandaluyong. The "face-off" happened via split-screen on television.

Lozada testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing that Abalos threatened his life by saying: "P.I, ka, huwag kang pumunta sa Wack Wack sa Mandaluyong kundi ipapapatay kita (You S.O.B., don't show yourself at Wack Wack or I'll have you killed)."

Showing a copy of the golf club's log files, Abalos -- accompanied by his lawyer and spokesperson Salvador Panelo -- said Lozada went back to Wack Wack on February 24 and on February 25, 2007, after the threat was allegedly made. Abalos also showed records to prove that Lozada even frequented the hamburger restaurant of his daughter inside the golf club during that month.

Lozada admitted going back to Wack Wack in February, but explained that he went there with former National Economic and Development Authority director general Romulo Neri, and that he visited the golf club for meetings with officials. He added that the hamburgers bought during those days were for his children.

On the issue of the alleged $130-million kickback, Abalos denied ever asking for any commission, as he insisted that no "agent" or "broker" for a deal would demand a kickback of 50 percent of the contract price. Lozada earlier testified that the NBN project could have pushed through with a budget of $132 million, but that the amount ballooned to $262 million because of Abalos' $130-million demand. The total contract price later on ballooned to $329 million.

Abalos also maintained that he was never part of the NBN-ZTE deal. He also pointed out that Lozada's testimony about a supposed reconciliatory meeting was contrary to an earlier testimony of Jose De Venecia III. He said that De Venecia III had claimed that they met on December 15, 2006. To this, Lozada said he never testified that he started meeting with Abalos and De Venecia III "together" before that date.

Lozada said he had been meeting with Abalos and De Venecia separately.

Lozada added that someone should check his mobile phone records and that of Abalos from September 2006 to January 2007.

"Check my phone records. We were phone pals," he said.

During the interview, Lozada and Abalos were asked if they would be willing to subject themselves to a lie detector test. Lozada agreed, "para lumabas na ang katotohanan (so that the truth would finally come out)." Abalos, however, did not answer the question directly, and instead thanked Lozada for admitting that he never brokered the deal for China to appoint ZTE Corp. to handle the project.

"Who am I to control the decision of the People's Republic of China? The government of China owns part of ZTE," he said.

Lozada and Abalos engaged in heated arguments at some point during the televised face-off. Lozada was irked when Abalos kept thanking him for saying that he (Abalos) was not the one who brokered the deal with ZTE. Lozada stressed that he never said Abalos dealt directly with the Chinese supplier. He alleged that Abalos went to First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo to push for the approval of ZTE deal.

Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Assistant Secretary Lorenzo Formoso III, who later joined the televised interview, said that Lozada detached himself from NBN project assessment, thus he does not know how the total project cost went up to $329 million.

"He was not part of the official consulting committee of the NEDA, the DOTC or the CICT (Commission on Information and Communications Technology)," said Formoso. "He said he left the project after he was threatened in January. But the actual planning for the project was finalized around April-March, so he does not know where he is coming from."

Formoso added that the scope of the NBN project was widened by 100 percent, thus the total project cost went up to $329 million.