MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Richard Gordon said Jose de Venecia III could never be considered a whistle-blower.

“There were many times in this scandal that he could have blown the whistle, but did not. He only started complaining when he did not get his way.”

Gordon said that the opportunists in the scandal were “scavengers and predators ready to feast on the carrion of their prey. And when they could not get their rightful share of the booty, one of them squeals and they start pointing fingers at one another.”

He said the protagonists had not “moderated their greed” and did not live up to the saying “that there is honor among thieves.”

“But the situation got out of hand and the self-proclaimed loser, Mr. Jose de Venecia III, spilled the beans,” said Gordon.

“All of them should be haled to court,” he said, adding that it was up to the Ombudsman whether to use Rodolfo Lozada Jr. later as a state witness to bolster the cases against the other officials once they are formally charged in the Sandiganbayan.

Gordon said Lozada had a lot of explaining to do although he was “helpful” when he started dishing out details of the NBN deal before the joint committee.

The report also recommended amendments to existing laws such as the appointment of a private individual to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) since it is currently “being used as a rubber stamp of the President,” as well as the passage of the “Whistleblower Bill of Rights.” Michael Lim Ubac