Sandra Cam: De Lima rejecting witnesses vs admin allies

THE head of the Whistleblowers Association of the Philippines on Monday accused Justice Secretary Leila de Lima of turning down prospective witnesses that would testify against administration allies.

Sandra Cam, herself a former whistleblower, made the statement following allegations of Senator Nancy Binay that the DOJ is taking its own “sweet time” in processing the application of Rhodora Alvarez, the whistleblower in the tailor-fitted P1.2-billion Armed Forces of the Philippines chopper deal.

But Binay said the DOJ is giving special treatment to former Makati vice mayor Ernesto Mercado, who is now enjoying the WPP coverage. Mercado is one of the whistleblowers in the corruption claims against the senator’s father Vice President Jejomar Binay.

“If you are against government officials, naku, thank you na lang… This secretary of Justice is a double standard woman. Huwag na siyang magmaang-maangan at magmalinis,” Cam told reporters.

Cam cited three cases in which De Lima and the DOJ became “selective” of the witnesses they would be giving government protection and placing under the WPP.

One of them was the case of prison guard Makilala Kabungsuan who sought witness protection from the DOJ in 2012 for exposing alleged rampant prostitution inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.

Cam said Makilala was initially given temporary protection, but was eventually withdrawn after a panel of investigators found probable cause to criminally charge Bureau of Corrections director Gaudencio Pangilinan.

Pangilinan later resigned.

Cam said Kabungsuan was “thrown away” to the Davao Penal Colony.

The second case was that of the seven overseas Filipino workers who were raped and victimized by the sex-for-flight scheme in the Middle East.

“Pero nung pumunta iyong mga babae, hindi niya hinarap. Bakit? Kasi these women were against labor attaches. They are government officials,” she said.

Without protection from the government, some of the OFW victims, Cam said, have been instead forced to go abroad once more to look for jobs.

“These women whistleblowers are against the administration, so wala sila [government] pakialam. Pero kung alam nila [government] na kaya nilang gamitin against the opposition, bibilisan nila,” said Cam.

“Ako na mismo nagsabi sa mga babae wag na kayo lumutang kasi you are just placing yourselves at risk,” she added.

The third case was that of the Immigration officials who turned into a whistleblower in the supposed escape of former Palawan Governor Joel Reyes, wanted for the killing of environmentalist and broadcaster Gerardo “Gerry” Ortega in 2011.

“Witness siya sa pag-alis ni Joel Reyes. Nilagay ba nila sa witness protection? Hindi,” said Cam, adding that the whistleblower now has been left to fend for himself and his family. “Ngayon, kung saan-saan na lang sila ng pamilya niya,” she said.

Cam appeared at the Senate in June 2014 to oppose the confirmation of  de Lima.

Meanwhile, de Lima denied the allegations made by both Sen. Binay and Cam.

“She (Alvarez) has been issued provisional admission already. When Sen. TG Guingona referred that to me, I immediately referred that to the WPP for evaluation. If I’m not mistaken, her provisional coverage was approved last June 23 subject to re-evaluation every six months,” she stressed.

De Lima pointed out that her office acted on the request in less than two weeks from receiving the request of the Senate blue-ribbon committee.

“What inaction is she talking about? I hope that before Sen. Binay would issue such statement, she should first check on the facts,” de Lima said.