Whistleblower Bill (WbB) : Agreeable?

Making the passage of the Whistleblower Bill a priority for this administration in its move to counter graft and corruption and truthful-governance is not a matter to be overlooked. In recollection of the two most controversial impeachment proceedings in state history- the Estrada and Arroyo entanglements with both graft and misuse of political will have not failed protecting the rights and safety of the people behind the neck-turning exposés. They were a given a nice clean sheet of identity where their involvement in the case was practically deduced into mere “innocent” towards “conscientious” participation. Thereby giving the public no other choice but take them in as “renewed” sons of social justice. That is, to an extent that they were implicitly given a better hook on public interest and even media mileage.

Take the case of former Ilocos Governor Chavit Singson who happened to be enjoying one appointment to the next. The man who blew the lid off of former Pres. Erap over the latter’s hollowed out money laundering schemes and gambling impulses has made a better career out of his so-called sacrifices during the Estrada impeachment proceedings. Singson was vital to the ouster of Erap that he was given the comforts of one appointment to the next that included his being appointed as the Deputy to the National Security Adviser. Else, the NBN-ZTE witnesses- Joey “Joe” De Venecia had him running for the 2010 senatorial bid thinking that his participation in the said controversy already provided him of a better political benchmark.

The point is the passage of WbB though beneficial in the plan to lure prospective whistleblowers, which at one point exasperate graft practices towards its extinction may also be exploited to give a better “fight plan” for mere political adventurism and power play. We do not question the credibility of these “whistleblowers” but we however should stay vigilant as to what drove them to spill the beans. More or less, this would just be a tool to mount political profit else a justifiable alibi for one criminal to exonerate himself either from our envisioned Truth Commission or the tribunals.