Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias made a last minute change of heart and backed out from the scheduled "Mass for truth" for Senate witness Rodolfo Noel "Jun" Lozada Jr. at the St. Peter's The Apostle Church in Quezon City Thursday night.

The unexplained backing out of Tobias came after Archbishop Ricardo Vidal's statements against Lozada and the sudden postponement of Archbishop Angel Lagdameo's attendance to the youth rally in Manila, which will be held Friday. Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, is reportedly in the hospital due to severe pulmonary hypertension.

A report over ABS-CBN's morning show, "Umagang Kay Ganda," said Tobias canceled 15 minutes before the scheduled Mass for truth for Lozada at his diocese.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers, the group that organized the Mass, said Tobias had a meeting with another priest before he backed out. ACT chairman Antonio Tinio said Tobias did not give them any explanation. The group said the Mass was pre-scheduled as early as two weeks ago.

"We're still trying to find out why the Mass was canceled. We haven't talked to Bishop Tobias yet," Tinio told abs-cbnNEWS.com.

Lozada, who was already outside the church, did not bother getting off his vehicle after learning about Tobias's decision.

The Senate witness has been going around churches and universities all over Metro Manila to spread the news about the bribery involved in the government's botched $329-million national broadband network deal with China's ZTE Corp.

Bishops pressured

Alvin Peters, president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines, said the group understands that Lagdameo and the other bishops are facing pressure.

"We know there's too much pressure for bishops to attend to this kind of activities. Malacañang is also doing psywar," Peters said in Filipino.

Peters confirmed that highschool and elementary students will also attend the protest action, which expects to muster 10,000 demonstrators. Opposition groups were also expected to join the protest action.

Tinio said the rally is meant to send a strong message to Malacañang before the Holy Week break.

"It's a youth-led rally so what will be highlighted will be the role the youth plays in this campaign for truth and accountability with regards to corruption in government. It is meant to send a strong message that we are all committed to pushing for the search for truth, justice and change," he told abs-cbnNEWS.com.

He said at least 300 public and private school teachers are expected to attend the rally.