My brother is the original whistleblower – Mat Ranillo's sister

Actor Mat Ranillo III should be considered the "original whistleblower" in the alleged P10-billion pork barrel fund scam, said his sister Suzette Ranillo on Monday. In an exclusive interview on GMA 7's "24 Oras", Suzette said that as early as 2007, her brother had been trying to tell government officials about the alleged illegal activities of now detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged brains behind the scam. "The lawyer [of Mat] said, that way back in 2007, he already opened it [Napoles' activities] to some government officials, but they ignored him," Suzette said. She also said that her brother was willing to return to the country to testify on the pork-scam case, as long as the government can guarantee his safety. In his affidavit in a suit filled against him by Napoles in 2007, Ranillo admitted to being an agent of Napoles' JLN Corporation., During the recent Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the scam, principal whistleblower Benhur Luy said Ranillo signed vouchers to show that pork barrel kickbacks had been received by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and his mother, former First Lady Loi Estrada. Senator Estrada however denied transacting with Ranillo. "The family is backing him [Mat] up all the way. We love him, we know that he is a good person at alam ko na ang public hindi naniniwala sa mga paratang sakanya," Suzette said. About 38 people, including former and incumbent government officials, are facing graft complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman over the pork barrel scam. Among the respondents are Estrada, Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., Juan Ponce Enrile, Napoles and Ruby Tuason, the latest whistleblower on the scam. — Elizabeth Marcelo/DVM, GMA News