Witness Protection Program's removal from DOJ sought

MANILA, Philippines - A House leader has filed a bill in Congress seeking to transfer the power of the Department of Justice in determining who is qualified to be placed in witness protection program (WPP) of the government to the proper court.

“Removing the present mandate on implementation of the law from the Department of Justice to the proper court would shield the program from possible corrosive politics,” Deputy Speaker Sergio Apostol said.

Apostol is author of HB 4583 which seeks to transfer said powers from the DOJ to the proper court by amending R.A. 6981 or “The Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act."

He pointed out that R.A. 6981 was enacted into law principally to encourage an individual who has witnessed or has knowledge of the commission of a crime to testify before a court, a quasi-judicial body, or an investigating authority, by protecting him/her from probable reprisals and from unavoidable economic dislocation.

The WPP is built on political control because the DOJ is under the control and supervision of the executive branch of government, Apostol said.

“When cases that the DOJ is prosecuting conflict with the interests of the executive and its officials, the implementation of the Program will be detrimentally affected, and any applications that risk undermining the government will likely be rejected,” he said.

Under the present law, the DOJ Secretary is the final arbiter concerning the implementation of the Program, he said.

“In order to avoid being under the control of the DOJ through its Secretary, it is better that the proper court is given the mandate to formulate and implement the said Program,” Apostol said. - Dennis Carcamo