A group of individuals on Tuesday vowed to spill more beans to the upcoming Truth Commission, created to investigate allegations of corruption that hounded the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration.
Members of the Whistleblowers' Association went to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to apply for coverage under the Witness Protection Program, saying they are confident that President Benigno Aquino III's administration will protect them.
With the security guarantee, they said they are no longer afraid to divulge all they supposedly know about alleged anomalies of the previous administration to the truth body, which will be headed by retired Supreme Court chief justice Hilario Davide Jr. "We are more than willing (to expose more anomalies) because before, we were being suppressed. Now, we are free to talk," said former Army technical sergeant Vidal Doble, who released the controversial "Hello, Garci" wiretapped conversations in June 2005.
In the controversial recordings, a woman presumed to be former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was discussing rigging election results with a man believed to be former Elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.
Doble said he will name more ranking military officials who were key players in the poll scandal.
"One [military official] is already an admiral, another was promoted as a lieutenant colonel. I will identify who told me not to blow the whistle because everyone cheats in the elections anyway," said Doble.
He added that the military officials told him to implicate only Samuel Ong, the former National Bureau of Investigation official, who exposed the election scandal. Ong died of lung cancer in May 2009.
In June 2005, Ong presented during a press conference what he claimed to be the "mother of all tapes." He did not play the tape but still claimed Mrs. Arroyo cheated to her victory in the 2004 presidential polls.
Ong's disclosure sparked calls for Arroyo's resignation. Late former President Corazon Aquino joined the call, including 10 cabinet members and senior officers, who announced their resignation at a press conference at the Hyatt Hotel in Pasay City.
The Hyatt 10 was composed of then Department of Education Sec. Florencio Abad, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles, National Anti-Poverty Commission Sec. Imelda Nicolas , Department of Trade and Industry Sec. Juan Santos, Department of Budget and Management Sec. Emilia Boncodin, Department of Finance Sec. Cesar Purisima, Department of Social Welfare and Development Sec. Dinky Soliman , Department of Land Reform Sec. Rene Villa, Bureau of Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina and Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Guillermo Parayno.
Fertilizer fund scam
Jose Barredo Jr., another member of the whistleblower’s group, said he is willing to expose more anomalies in the Department of Agriculture.
"If we push through with the Truth Commission, I will divulge more details about seedlings and fertilizers [projects of the DA]," said Barredo.
Barredo was among those who faced a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, which supposedly diverted the money for the farmers to Arroyo's campaign kitty in the 2004 presidential polls.
At a Senate inquiry in 2005, Barredo said former DA undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc-Joc" Bolante received 25 percent of the total project amount in "kickbacks (commission)."
Barredo was described as a Department of Agriculture "runner" who talked with congressman and governors about the fertilizer fund in exchange for commissions.
Last year, Senate panel later elevated the inquiry to the Office of the Ombudsman, where it remains pending as of August 2010.
Jueteng whistlebrower
Also on Tuesday, jueteng whistleblower Sandra Cam said her group went to the DOJ and applied for the Witness Protection Program because it trusts in the leadership of its present head, Secretary Leila de Lima.
She added that her group did not consider applying for the program when the DOJ was under former heads, deemed to be close allies of Arroyo.
She likewise said the government may need to protect them more once the Truth Commission's investigation rolls out.
"The Truth Commission will not start without us," said Cam.
Cam had testified before the Senate on payoffs from jueteng, a popular but illegal numbers game. They linked members of the Arroyo family to the payoffs, but the Arroyos denied the claims.
In March this year, another jueteng whistleblower Wilfredo "Boy" Mayor was killed in Pasay City. (See: Cops to invite Sandra Cam to she light on jueteng whistlebrower's murder] — LBG
