MANILA, Philippines—Mary “Rosebud” Ong vowed on Tuesday, to continue appearing in court proceedings despite the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to remove her from the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP).
Accompanied by “running priest” Robert Reyes and anti-crime crusader Dante Jimenez, Ong met with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to convince the latter to reconsider her decision to take her off the security coverage of the WPP.
“I will finish the cases. There is no turning back,” Ong told reporters after her closed-door meeting with De Lima.
The police informant-turned-witness accused her arch-nemesis, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, behind what she claimed were moves of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp) to terminate witness status.
“He (Lacson) even called me ‘bawang’ (garlic),” she lamented. “Well, that is right because ‘aswang’ is afraid of garlic.”
In 2001, Ong implicated Lacson in drug trafficking, kidnapping-for-ransom syndicates, summary executions and other illegal activities.
Ong claimed that the purported threat assessments done by the former Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief, Major Gen. Romulo Bambao, about her “were patently lies.”
In a report, Ong said the former military intelligence chief indicated the assessment of her security as “zero threat” and that she was leaving the ISAFP compound in Camp Aguinaldo without her security escorts.
“That is a total lie,” Ong said, saying she could show her diary containing the dates when she left her safehouse.
“The ironic thing here is the fact that I’m facing several libel suits because of my decision to testify. But I’m being removed from the WPP.”
She then warned other government witnesses that they might suffer her fate after President Aquino’s term ends in 2016.
“I just want to remind them to make sure they will still be protected until they finish their testimonies,” Ong said.
After the meeting, De Lima said she ordered acting WPP director Martin Menez to “reassess” Ong’s inclusion in the WPP and submit a recommendation before Sept. 30.
“I may suspend the termination of her inclusion in the WPP as the reassessment has yet to be submitted by October 1,” De Lima said.