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By Efren L. Danao, Senior Reporter
Senate witness Rodolfo Lozada Jr. should
restrict his movements while he is under the protective custody of
the Senate, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile said Monday.
“Lozada said that he is under threat, but he
has been going all over the country with the Senate paying for his
plane fare, his food, and security from the Office of the
Sergeant-at-Arms [OSAA],” he said of the witness in the aborted
$330-million national broadband project being investigated by the
Senate blue-ribbon committee.
Lozada has been going to different parts of the
country accompanied by men of the Senate sergeant-at-arms and some
religious leaders in what he called “search for truth.”
Enrile said he would not oppose Senate expenses
for the security of Lozada if it is true there is a real threat to
his life, “but his movement should be restricted.”
“If possible, keep him at the Senate. He has
been going to Cebu, Pangasinan, Bicol, Pampanga, to heaven and to
hell, and the OSAA has been going with him. If he goes to the United
States, will we still pay for his fare?” he asked.
He also cited reports that another witness in
the broadband inquiry, Dante Madriaga, has been signing meal stubs
at the Senate canteen not only for himself but also for his guests.
“If I have a witness, I will pay for his
security and not pass it on to the Senate,” he said.
Witness-protection tab
Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan, also
the chairman of the Senate Committee on Accounts, said the Senate
had already spent about P500,000.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the blue
ribbon, cited a higher figure of P1.2 million.
Pangilinan said the amount is immaterial,
because the Senate is duty-bound to protect whistleblowers. He
argued that unless security is provided, many persons with anomalies
to divulge will hesitate going to the Senate.
“The proper solution is for the Senate to pass
my bill amending the Witness Protection Program [WPP] to allow the
Senate to establish its own WPP,” he said.
He said the Witness Protection Program is being
administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which is headed by
an alter ego of the President. He pointed out that Justice Secretary
Raul Gonzalez recently filed malversation charges against Lozada.
“How can you expect the DOJ to protect a
witness against the President or her relatives?” Pangilinan asked.
Cayetano also maintained that there can be no
price to “truth” and that there is an actual threat to
Lozada’s life.
“If we remove the security of Mr. Lozada, you
can be sure that we will have difficulty getting witnesses in the
future. Testifying in the Senate will be like a suicide mission,”
he said.
He justified the Senate’s spending for Lozada,
saying even the Bureau of Internal Revenue gives rewards to
whistleblowers.
“The problem is not how much we are spending
but the absence of a Witness Protection Program for the Senate,”
he said.
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