KIKO ASKS REMULLA TO ‘WEIGH THINGS CAREFULLY’ BEFORE PROVIDING STATE WITNESS IMMUNITY

SENATOR Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan has urged  Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla to “weigh things carefully” before granting state witness protection to individuals involved in the flood control corruption scandal.

During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Thursday, September 25, the senator asked Remulla to put on record that state witnesses under the law once accepted as such are immune from both criminal and civil liabilities to include exemption from returning stolen funds.

With Remulla answering in the affirmative, Pangilinan pointed out the need to be more discerning of those applying to be state witnesses.

“And I trust that you will weigh things carefully before a decision to allow for a witness to become a state witness, taking into consideration all that is most beneficial for the state,” he told the secretary.

Currently, contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya and former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials–ex-undersecretary Roberto Bernardo and former Bulacan district engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez, and Jaypee Mendoza–are considered “protected witnesses” under the DOJ.

They applied to be state witnesses and be placed under the witness protection program after making bombshell statements that implicated high-ranking government officials in the multi-billion-peso flood control issue.

Pangilinan expressed concern about the possibility that the state may no longer be able to recover the stolen public funds once the individuals are accepted as state witnesses.

Earlier, the senator explained that witnesses–like Hernandez who surrendered luxury vehicles–can return ill-gotten wealth voluntarily as a sign of good faith and cooperation.