DOJ exec insists he was 'whistleblower' in 'Alabang Boys' mess

MANILA, Philippines - Hours before facing a congressional grilling on the matter, a Justice department official insisted Tuesday he was the whistleblower and not a "suspect" in the mess involving three scions of wealthy families. At the same time, Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor appealed to lawmakers to speed up the investigation, saying his name had been dragged in the case for too long. "Ako nga ang whistleblower dito (In fact I was the whistleblower in this case)," Blancaflor said in an interview on dwIZ radio. Blancaflor said he "refused" to accommodate a draft release order for the boys supposedly prepared by the legal counsel of one of the boys. He said he "passed" on the document to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, saying Gonzalez was in a position to do something about it. "Ayaw ko ng papel na yan sa opisina ko, ibigay ninyo sa office ni Secretary Gonzalez dahil alam niya kung anong gagawin. Napaliwanag ko na yan kay Sec. Gonzalez kahapon, naniwala naman si Sec. Gonzalez (I said I did not want to see that piece of paper in my office. I told my staff to pass the document to the secretary's office because he would know what to do. I explained it to the secretary, and he believed me)," he said. Blancaflor said Gonzalez's only question was why he did not include an explanatory note in the document. "Ang tanong niya lang bakit hindi ko nilagyan ng note. Alam ninyo, nasa Iloilo ako at the time, siyempre paano ka gagawa ng note (He asked me why I did not place an explanatory note. I was in Iloilo at the time, how could I have done so)?" he said. On the other hand, Blancaflor said he will attend the investigation on the matter by the House of Representatives. When asked if he would attend the investigation, he said, "of course," but asked that the investigation be a speedy one. "Dapat mabilis ang investigation. Lumalaki ang istorya samantalang nadadamay ang pangalan ko rito. Ang problema rito suhulan sa decision ng kaso, wala naman akong role sa decision ng kaso (The investigation should be speedy because the mess is growing bigger and my name is being dragged into it. The problem is that the supposed bribery involved the decision-making. I was never part of that decision-making)," he said. He also said he is willing to face any administrative sanction that may result from the investigation. "Normal yan sa investigation. Kung ano ang administrative case, that has to be the result of fact-finding or process," he said. Earlier, Gonzalez described as "highly irregular" and "unusual interest" the act of Blancaflor in connection with the drug charges filed against the 'Alabang Boys.' "This was beyond the ambit of his work. It's not his job to make the order and have it signed by me," Gonzalez told reporters in an interview Monday. The "Alabang Boys" – Richard Brodett, Jorge Jordana Joseph, and Joseph Tecson – were arrested September 20 in separate operations mounted at the Araneta Center area in Quezon City and Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa. A controversy erupted after their families allegedly offered millions of pesos in exchange for their release. - GMANews.TV