The strengthening of the implementation of the law against perjury can solve bigger crimes such as graft and corruption, Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement issued on Thursday, October 20.
Sen. Cayetano lamented the weakness of congressional hearings as witnesses who commit perjury or those who give false testimonies are left unpunished.
"Let's start punishing people who lie under oath. Maybe we can go beyond charging those who lie with contempt but rather charge them with a criminal case," he said.
Cayetano was prompted by the flip-flopping testimonies of former Shariah judge Nagamura Moner, one of the key witnesses in the alleged 2004 and 2007 electoral fraud.
In a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Moner refuted his testimony in 2005 that no cheating occurred in the 2004 elections saying that he would rather lie under oath and go to jail than put his family’s safety at risk.
The minority leader pointed out that it shows the “country's lack of control in garnering credible testimonies from witnesses.”
"Dahil sabi nga nila, sa Pilipinas walang nakukulong sa perjury (Because, as they say, nobody gets jailed for perjury in the Philippines)," he added.
Cayetano stressed that a stronger implementation of laws against perjury will lead to potential witnesses being more concerned about going to jail as a consequence of perjury than opting to lie under oath.
"Habang ang perjury ay kalokohan lang sa ating bansa (If perjury continues to be brushed off in our country), we will continue to question the credibility of our witnesses. We'll continue to have witnesses who refuse to go to attend these hearings or would even lie under oath," he said.
