KIKO FILES SENATE BILL 2081; AMENDING RA NO. 6981 ACT REMOVING FROM THE DOJ THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PROTECTING WITNESSES IN LEGISLATIVE HEARINGS

In VIEW of ZTE deal key witness Rodolfo Lozada's situation, Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan today filed a bill seeking to amend the existing witness protection law, to include the establishment of a separate program for those testifying before Senate hearings in aid of legislation.

"Senate Bill 2081 seeks to address the urgent need to provide protection and security to witnesses and resource persons who attend legislative investigations in aid of legislation conducted by the Congress of the Philippines. The present law, Republic Act 6981, or the Witness Protection and Benefit Act, should be amended in order to improve the conditions and procedure for providing protection and assistance to a witness in legislative investigations. Under RA 6981, the Justice Department is the primary agency tasked to implement the same. Paano na lang ang sitwasyon ni Mr. Lozada na tumestigo laban sa gobyerno na itinalaga ng batas na magpoprotekta sa kanya? Mababantayan ba siya ng tapat at tama sa ilalim ng kasalukuyang batas?" Magkakatiwala ba halimbawa ang testigo tulad n Lozada kung mapasailalim sya ng program sa ngayon kung saan ay si Sec Raul Gonzales ang tagapangasiwa bilang DoJ Secretary' Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan proposes that Sec. 4 of RA 6981 should be amended so as to "provide for a separate Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Program for the resource persons and/or witnesses in legislative investigations," and the Senate or the House of Representatives, as the case may be, shall be tasked to administer the same.

"The program shall be implemented by the Senate or the House of Representatives independent from the Justice Department when it is apparent that the investigation might be prejudiced and/or when the safety of the witness might be jeopardized especially when the Justice Department or higher officials are involved," Kiko explains.

Pangilinan stressed that this broadened witness protection program may even encourage witnesses of anomalous transactions in governments to come out in the open and expose what they know.

"Magkakaroon ng lakas ng loob ang taumbayan na lumabas at magbulgar ng anomalya, lalo na sa kaso kung malalaking tao sa lipunan ang sinasabing kasabwat.. Kung ang magbabantay kasi ang inaakusahan, hindi malayong bantay-salakay ang mangyayari," Kiko ended.