BAM AQUINO: RETURNING STOLEN FUNDS SHOULD BE A CONDITION FOR STATE WITNESSES

SENATOR Bam Aquino stressed that returning stolen public funds should be a condition for individuals seeking protection under the Witness Protection Program (WPP) or aspiring to become state witnesses.

During the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on anomalous flood control projects on Tuesday, Aquino asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) whether the return of stolen money could be made a condition for entry into the program.

“Secretary, pagdating sa pagbabalik ng pera, tama ba na puwede itong gawing kondisyon sa pagpasok sa Witness Protection Program o pagiging state witness o hindi kasama ang usapin ng pagbabalik ng pera,” Aquino said.

“Palagay ko iyan ang hinihintay ng maraming tao. Kung mayroon pong mag-i-state witness, mahalaga na maibalik ang pera na ninakaw sa ating bayan,” he added.

Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla clarified that while restitution is usually ordered by the courts, the DOJ considers it a measure of good faith when evaluating potential witnesses.

“Ang pagbabalik ng pera, iyan po inuutos ng korte. Pero para makita natin ang good faith ng isang testigo, isang tanong iyan na binibigay natin sa kanila,” Remulla responded.

“Kasi kung gusto nilang maprotektahan, dapat iyong full good faith, isosoli talaga nila. Iyon po iyong isang test natin sa kanila. Wala iyan sa patakaran, pero isang test po kung reliable po ang witness o hindi,” he added.

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) confirmed that it is currently investigating contractors named during the Senate Blue Ribbon hearings on bid rigging in flood control projects.

“We are already doing our preliminary inquiry of this case. We are looking at the contractors that were named during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) and the other contractors that were mentioned during the Senate Blue Ribbon hearings,” PCC Director attorney Christian delos Santos told Aquino.

“The next step right now is to gather evidence, such as bid documents and possible communication exchanges between them,” he added, confirming that testimonies made during the Blue Ribbon hearings can also be used as evidence.

Delos Santos said erring contractors and public officers, as facilitators, may be fined from P110 million to P250 million per incident.

Aquino earlier suggested the filing of bid-rigging cases under the Philippine Competition Act (PCA) against erring contractors involved in anomalous flood control projects so billions of pesos in public funds can be recovered.

Meanwhile as arguments heat up during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan stressed that there is no law that prevents those involved in the flood control corruption scandal from giving back stolen funds and luxury vehicles, among others.

This comes as debates on the restitution of the stolen funds and vehicles rose during the hearing on the flood control corruption scandal.

“Si Ginoong Hernandez, halimbawa, sinurrender na sa ICI (Independent Commission for Infrastructure) ‘yung ilang vehicles at sinasabi niya willing pa s’ya i-surrender ‘yung Lamborghini. That’s his voluntary act,” the senator said.

“If Engineer Alcantara will do the same voluntarily as a sign of goodwill, there is no law that prevents him from doing that,” he added.

Pangilinan furthered that while no law requires state witnesses to surrender stolen funds and goods, the government can be “broader” in its implementation of programs and laws especially if the offer to surrender is voluntary.

“In fact, yung pagbabalik is a sign of cooperation, which the courts will eventually consider when it sentences or if it provides the exemption and the immunity, hindi po ba?,” Pangilinan asked Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla.

The senator said that this should be a “guide” for those applying to be state witnesses in the current corruption issue that their cooperation is a “sign” to the courts to possibly grant them exclusion, exemption, or immunity.

“And at the same time, kapag may sintensiya, pati ‘yun mapapababa pa,” he added.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently studying the affidavits of contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya and engineers Brice Hernandez and Henry Alcantara of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the possibility of putting them under the government’s Witness Protection Program as state witnesses.