Escudero wants Congress to craft own witness protection program

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Francis Escudero pushed yesterday for the approval of twin measures that would empower Congress to craft its own witness protection program and set up a reward system for whistle-blowers of graft and corruption in government.

“(Witnesses) Jun Lozada and Joey de Venecia III would have benefited from these proposals if they had been passed and signed into law. These are meant to encourage those who have witnessed crimes, especially graft and corruption in government, to come forward and testify against perpetrators,” Escudero said.

Lozada and De Venecia were both recommended by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee to be charged for alleged involvement in the $329-million national broadband network deal anomaly even if they were the ones who testified that the project was overpriced and awarded to China’s ZTE Corp. to accommodate “fat commissions” among those brokering the deal from the Arroyo government.

The senator said his committee on justice and human rights had approved the bills on the protection, security and benefits of whistle-blowers and amendments to the Witness Protection and Benefits Act to allow the Senate and the House of Representatives to have its own witness protection program.

Escudero said the current law on witness protection only empowers the Department of Justice to manage the program and the amendment seeks to allow both houses of Congress to promulgate their own for witnesses or resource persons in congressional investigations in aid of legislation.

“However, as in the cases of Jun Lozada, Sandra Cam, Michaelangelo Zuce and many others who have come forward and disclosed what they know of wrongdoing in the government, Congress remains powerless to provide them protection,” he said.

Under the proposed measure, the Senate or the House can promulgate their own rules in implementing their respective Witness Protection, Security and Benefits Program for qualified witnesses.

The other measure, the proposed Whistle-blowers Act, sets up a reward system for those who will step forward and expose graft and corruption in government.

The reward ranges from P50,000 to P5 million, depending on the salary grade of the official involved. The highest reward is P5 million if the testimony of the whistle-blower involves a public official with a salary grade of 33.

“All forms of graft and corruption punishable under our laws are included in this measure,” Escudero said.

Also, whistle-blowers can come from the public and private sectors for as long as their disclosure proves to be necessary in the prosecution of the criminal offense of graft and corruption.      – Aurea Calica