A RELIGIOUS organization is ready to provide sanctuary to former state auditor Heidi Mendoza.
The Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) on Thursday said that Mendoza may seek refuge with them if she so wishes.
Mendoza has testified before both chambers of Congress on how former military comptroller Carlos Garcia allegedly pocketed millions of pesos in military funds.
But she begged off also on Thursday during a Senate hearing from testifying further on how the Commission on Audit failed to uncover alleged anomalies in the high offices of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
According to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines News, Sister Mary John Mananzan, AMRSP co-chairman, said that helping people is an obligation especially the whistleblowers who have integrity and fight for the truth.
“Of course, we are ready to protect her if she asks for it. I think it is very courageous of her. Keep it up and we are with you,” she said of Mendoza.
The AMRSP has not received any request from the former government auditor or her family for sanctuary.
Nuns and lay persons also provided security and sanctuary to whistleblower Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada who exposed alleged anomalies in the National Broadband Network deal between the administration of then President Gloria Arroyo and China’s ZTE Corp.
In her testimonies before the House of Representatives and the Senate, Mendoza cited, among others, vouchers signed by Garcia and former finance officer Col. Fernando Zabat for the withdrawal of P200 million from the Armed Forces trust fund in November 2002.
For her evident courage, the former state auditor immediately received the support of several bishops for her “lay leadership” by “speaking out against the abuse of office that impoverishes the people and harm the common good”.
Mananzan also denounced the alleged irregularities in the military, saying that the revelations of Mendoza only proved what the public had suspected before.
“There is already much suspicion of corruption in the AFP. Now, we get corroboration and concrete examples. We condemn it absolutely and indignantly,” she said.
Established in 1972, the AMRSP is a joint forum of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of Men (founded 1955) and the Association of Major Religious Superiors of Women in the Philippines (founded 1957).
AMRSP played a crucial role during the martial law years when it opened the doors of its seminaries and convents to victims of human-rights violations.
