The head of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Monday said the panel would recommend that the two key witnesses in the botched $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) deal be named as probable state witnesses.

Senator Richard Gordon said his panel would recommend both Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada and the son of the former House Speaker, Jose “Joey” De Venecia III to become state witnesses because of their involvement in the tainted deal.

But Gordon warned that exempting the two from liability in the anomalous project is tantamount to sending the message that anyone can walk out from legal responsibility by being the “first to squeal.”

While other senators are pressing for the exclusion of Lozada and De Venecia for being the “whistleblowers” in the case, Gordon said there is a big distinction between being a whistleblower and a probable state witness.

“A whistleblower does not participate in the crime. He witnesses it and then reports about it. A state witness is one who, while not squeaky clean, is not the most guilty,” said Gordon.

Gordon said that exempting the two would send the message that “it is okay to try to get money on an illegal deal; but make sure that when things go wrong, you be the first to squeal and you can be the hero.”

He said it is unfair not to include Lozada and De Venecia when testimonies and evidence showed that the two were actively involved in the deal.

On the other hand, Sen. Minority Leader Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. said the minority bloc would press the issue when the committee report is presented in plenary.

Pimentel said the minority bloc will ask Gordon to clarify its recommendations and findings in the NBN-ZTE deal as they found some portions of the report questionable.

“We can clarify that, that is why during the discussion of the report, isa yun sa mga bagay na ididiin ko na liwanagin natin,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel also said they will ask the committee to clarify its findings and recommendations against President Arroyo and the First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.