For the sake of truth: With no law protecting them, whistleblowers like NBN ZTE scam witness Jun Lozada are forced to hold on to their own faith and courage. JES AZNAR (www.jesaznar.com)

ZTE-NBN deal whistleblower Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada spoke out and told all he knew. As a result, while corruption persists, his life has changed forever.

“I still live in fear because those I uncovered are still in power and they are still billionaires –whereas I cannot live a normal live anymore,” Lozada tells the Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project (PPTRP).

Lozada, former Chief Executive Officer of the government-run Philippine Forest Corporation and then consultant of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) alleged back in 2008 that then Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Chairman Benjamin Abalos and former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo pocketed kickbacks in the USD 329 million construction contract awarded to Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE for the proposed National Broadband Network.

Lozada did not receive any protection from the government. Instead the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines gave him the sanctuary he sought.

“This clearly shows that the institution in Philippine is not really functioning as it is meant to be,” he says.

Jueteng payola bagman and whistleblower Sandra Cam on the other hand was placed under the protection of the Senate – but only for three months.

“I was removed after the senate claimed they spent PhP 700,000 for my security,” says Cam.

The rest of the time it was also the religious order who gave her protection the government should have provided her with.

“The Church can only help from six months to a year: After one year what happens?” asks Cam.

Lozada and Cam are just two of the many whistleblowers who needed government protection and support as they risked their lives in exchange of exposing corruption.

Some have in fact lost their lives including Wilfredo “Boy” Mayor who testified before the Senate against former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He accused her of pocketing jueteng kickbacks. Mayor was ambushed inside his car in March last year.

Weak institution

The Department of Justice (DOJ) which is supposed to provide protection to whistleblowers has no such program.

The DOJ has what it calls the Witness Protection Program (WPP) which provides limited help to witnesses. “This gives protection only to those who will testify in pending cases directly under the DOJ. We need protection for whistleblowers to encourage them to testify and file proper cases,” says Atty. Harry Roque, executive director of the non-government Center for International Law (Center Law).

Even the WPP offers very little support which is equivalent to a measly PhP 6,000 (USD 146) per month in cash or kind.

In a research compiled by the Association of Whistleblowers of the Philippines, it found out that of the PhP 6,000 allowance for "Hello Garci" electoral scandal whistleblower Vidal Doble, half goes directly to his child in Kidapawan City in North Cotabato.  Meanwhile the entire monthly allowance only covers the cost of rent for "Fertilizer Fund Scam" whistleblower Jose "Boy" Barredo and his family.

COMELEC whistleblower Melchor Magdamo on the other hand would have appreciated the scanty amount but is yet to be admitted to the program. “I must first submit a formal letter from the COMELEC requesting for my admission into the WPP. Since I saved COMELEC from plunders amounting to over billions of pesos, those in the COMELEC leadership are not happy about it so they refused and continue to refuse to issue any letter requesting for my admission into the WPP,” Magdamo told PPTRP.

Association of whistleblowers

Cam co-founded the Whistleblowers Association of the Philippines in 2008. WAP received a total of PhP 62,500 (USD 1,524) from a number of senators which was then used for its incorporation at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ever since, the association was not able to attract a single centavo of funding support. “In other countries, if you blow whistle against a corrupt official, their government gives protection and financial assistance. Here we help ourselves to finance each other,” says Cam.

Yet even without help from government, Cam leads a financially secure life. She is a real estate broker and owns and manages two schools in Cavite.

At the very least she hopes her fellow whistleblowers could seek employment through the help of the government. “The likes of Doble and Barredo find it hard to land a job because people are afraid of them. The government can give us jobs because we are all professionals. Even if they delegate us as clerks it can help us financially. We all need employment to feed ourselves,” she says.

Whistleblower Protection Act

The Whistleblower Protection Act is currently pending approval in Senate. If enacted into law, this will give whistleblowers adequate protection they require.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago initially filed the bill before the 13^th Congress to support and protect the right of witnesses and whistleblowers as they expose malpractices in their workplace.

“Whistleblowers automatically expect retaliation for their honesty. They are usually accused of being malcontents trying to profit from their accusations. The fear generated by retaliations creates a chilling effect on the willingness of people to come forward and expose wrongdoing,” she says.

“Our fight against graft and corruption in the government hinges on the courage of those who see evil and cry foul. We must reward their bravery and honesty with security,” Santiago has said.

Meanwhile Senator Francis Escudero who heads the Committee on Justice says they are already looking for possible sources of funding to bankroll the act.

Lawyer Roque believes the passage of the bill is not too far at hand. “It’s possible for it to be enacted into law. All the administration has to do is to certify it as urgent,” he says.

Freedom of information bill

Truth advocates are also pushing for the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill. If enacted, it would make records of public transactions accessible to the public.

“If you know of malpractices and you want to expose them you would need evidence. Whistleblowers usually know where the documents are kept, the documents they tampered and the contracts they faked. It will be very effective if we can have both,” says Cam.

Kaya Natin Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership is working hand in hand with other organizations to lobby for the immediate passage of the bill, constantly meeting with legislators to press their case.

“These are tools necessary “para sa tuwid na daan” (towards a straight path) . Even if there is protection for whistleblowers, in the absence of Freedom of Information Bill they will find it hard to secure information,” Atty. Irene Aguila, vice chairperson of Kaya Natin told PPTRP.

Aguila says she wouldn’t want to second guess but some influential people might be slowing down the approval of these bills. “Bills that will not hurt other people are those easy to merit approval. The Freedom of Information Bill and Whistleblower Act will hurt some people. It could be that there are people who are hampering our legislators to pass these into law.”

Keeping the faith alive

Lozada has no regrets but he advised people who may know of anomalies to be resolute should they decide to speak out. “Once you decide to do something like this you must have strong faith. Without the dimension of faith it will be very hard to turn your back on hundreds of millions of pesos in exchange for telling the truth,” he says.

Whistleblowers are also constantly challenged to lead a life of truth. “Everything you say and do will be guarded. One false statement and people will doubt all that you’ve said no matter how true they are,” Lozada said.

Lozada is currently working as a Special Consultant for Technology and Innovation at De La Salle University. He would have retired today had he choose to pocket bribes and kickbacks but he would have never traded it for peace of mind. “It’s a light existence. I don’t know how to describe it. I’d like to encourage people to tell the truth,” says Lozada.

“I still have faith but I’d like to see a more substantial effort from the current administration because corruption still persists,” says Lozada.

“There is no reason for the Philippines to remain poor.  It’s our system of creating law and governance that gives opportunity for corruption. I have been in private and government and I have seen how much resources, talents and brilliant ideas we have. Our failure lies in our lack of character. I hope President Aquino will give priority to whistleblower’s act,” he adds.

Cam on the other hand believes no life is worth risking in exchange for telling the truth. “To those who would like to blow the whistle, I advise them not to unless the whistleblower act is enacted. [Otherwise]  they will just end up like us,” she says.

A lot of legislators, says Cam, encourage people to speak out but they will only give limited protection. “They will provide protection for a month or two –but you and your family will suffer. Wait for the whistleblower act so you will have protection.” Philippine Public Transparency Reporting Project

(The author is a senior reporter at GMA Network Inc., covering business stories.)