Rosebud seeks witness protection coverage anew

MANILA, Philippines - Fearing for her life, Mary “Rosebud” Ong yesterday asked Secretary Leila de Lima of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reinstate her into the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP).

Ong was accompanied by members of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) when she met with De Lima.           

She maintained that threats against her exist 10 years after she accused Sen. Panfilo Lacson of various crimes.

Ong told the DOJ chief that she needs government protection since the cases in which she had implicated the former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) remain pending in courts.

“When I took my oath, I swore to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. I am committed to finish up to the last hearing day and promulgation of the cases. I intend to finish my two cases and leave the country. Only you, Madam Secretary, can help me fulfill this promise,” Ong said in a letter she handed to De Lima.

De Lima said she would study Ong’s request for reinstatement to the WPP.

The civilian police agent turned state witness questioned the decision of the DOJ to terminate her inclusion in the program after the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) said that there were no more serious threats to her life.

“That’s the worse intelligence report to make. Why didn’t they say that when Ping (Lacson) was still in hiding? Now that he’s back, they would say there’s no more threat against me?” she told reporters.

According to Ong, former ISAFP chief General Romulo Bambao “has either deceived the justice secretary or overlooked the fact that I am still escorted by ISAFP security personnel in attending court hearings.”

She believes that Lacson had something to do with her removal from the WPP.

Ong was placed under WPP coverage in 2001 after testifying before a Senate Blue Ribbon inquiry that Lacson and his former subordinates at the PNP were allegedly involved in drug trafficking and kidnap-for-ransom activities.

Last Sept. 2, she was informed by the DOJ that her inclusion in the WPP would be terminated effective Oct. 1.

Ong said that the previous administration assured her that she would be placed under protective custody “for the completion of all cases and/or until the threat and intimidation against her disappear.”

She added that for seven years, she lived in a dilapidated room inside the ISAFP canteen without television cable, landline phone or Internet access.