Drilon rejects proposal to remove WPP from DOJ control

Senate President Franklin Drilon on Wednesday rejected a congressman's proposal to remove the Witness Protection Program (WPP) from the Department of Justice's (DOJ) control.

In a statement, Drilon, a former DOJ secretary, said the WPP under the justice department “has been an effective government mechanism for the administration of justice in the country.”

“The WPP is a factor that convinces witnesses to cooperate with the DOJ in its duty to prosecute criminal offenders and provide justice. It is also therefore the obligation of the DOJ to give 24-hour protection to the lives of state witnesses and provide for their needs while they are in government’s custody,” he said.

He added that it is the DOJ's duty “to gather credible witnesses who have knowledge about the crimes committed.”

House Deputy Speaker Sergio Apostol, through House Bill 4583, earlier proposed that the WPP be transferred from the DOJ to the local courts. Apostol's measure seeks to amend Republic Act 6981 or The Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act.

Apostol argued that the DOJ may not be in the best position to handle the WPP, since it is likely to reject applications “underming the government.”

DOJ Secretary Leila De Lima, however, has described Apostol's proposal as “reckless and illogical,” saying politics has never been a consideration in granting government protection to witnesses.

Drilon, for his part, agreed with De Lima's statement that the WPP is insulated from politics.

“The primary considerations are the relevance of the testimony and the threat to the life of the state witness. Politics does not and should not play any role in determining who qualifies as state witness,” he said. —Andreo Calonzo/KBK, GMA News