Seven senators have signed an urgent motion asking the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court (MMTC) Branch 26 to release NBN-ZTE scam star witness Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada to the Senate.

"Considering that Mr. Lozada is in the custody of the Senate of the Republic of the Philippines, has been very cooperative and has not attempted to flee during the Senate investigations, it is only proper that Mr. Lozada be released from Manila Police District (MPD) custody on recognizance of the undersigned senators," the senators said in the urgent ex-parte motion, which will be filed on Monday.

The signatory senators were Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Mar Roxas, Panfilo "PIng" Lacson, Loren Legarda, Gregorio Honasan, Ma. Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal and Benino "Noynoy" Aquino III.

Roxas, who initiated the petition, said he will deliver a copy of the motion to Lozada on Friday. The NBN-ZTE star witness is still detained at the MPD headquarters. He was supposed to be transferred to the Manila City Jail on Thursday, but police failed to secure a "commitment order" from the MMTC Branch 26.

The senator's statement said Sen. Rodolfo Biazon had also confirmed that he will sign the petition on Monday. Roxas urged other senators to sign the petition.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who has yet to sign the motion, said Thursday that the Senate would have to make a stand against Lozada's arrest, insisting that the NBN-ZTE witness is effectively still under the protective custody of the Senate.

Cayetano said he would ask the Senate leadership to call for a caucus meeting to discuss what the upper chamber could do with the arrest of their witness.

He said it was obvious that Lozada's arrest is still connected with the NBN-ZTE scam and other anomalies that were vaguely mentioned during the Senate hearings last year, including the NorthRail and South Rail projects.

"There are a lot of people who want to silence Lozada. Even if the ZTE investigations are closed, there's still a lot to investigate, including the North Rail and South Rail projects that all went through the NEDA (National Economic Development Authority)," Cayetano said.

He added: "I call on the Senate to set aside politics and their 2010 ambitions. Let's meet and discuss how we can fairly treat Senate witnesses. It's not right to just stop protecting witnesses once the investigations are closed."

The senator said the Senate can bring the issue of Lozada's arrest to the Supreme Court, but he said the upper chamber would have to make a united stand first before legally stepping in.