Witnesses, cases at risk if WPP transferred to courts – state prosecutors

State prosecutors are opposed to a House bill that seeks to transfer the Witness Protection Program to the courts from the Justice department.

"The proposal to remove the WPP in the DOJ would seriously undermine our prosecutors' ability to obtain and sustain our witnesses' collaboration in the investigation and case buildup," Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, head of the National Prosecution Service, said in a statement on Sunday.

Arellano warned of "grave repercussion in the dispensation of justice" if the proposal is enacted.

He explained that witnesses may be subjected to "intimidation and suppression" if the program will be taken out of DOJ's hands "considering the insufficiency" of court resources.

"Dismantling lawless elements in our society requires getting information that can be difficult to obtain without witnesses," he pointed out.

Last month, Deputy Speaker Sergio Apostol filed House Bill No. 4583, which seeks to hand over the WPP to the courts.

He said that with the WPP in the control of the executive branch, admission into, and administration of the program may be colored by political considerations.

"Any applications (to the program) that risk undermining the government will likely be rejected," he said in the explanatory note to his bill.

"In order to avoid being under the control of the DOJ through its secretary, it is better that the proper court shall formulate and implement the said program," the Leyte representative said.

Arellano further explained that Apostol's measure could lead to "failed prosecutions of cases" since prosecutors rely on witnesses more than on forensic evidence.

"In a society where the use of forensic evidence is at its infancy, we, prosecutors, rely on our witnesses' ability to recall and relate relevant information, essential to the successful prosecution of cases," he said.

New Era College of Law Dean Abraham Espejo backed the prosecutors' opposition to the pending measure.

"Obviously, if the witness protection program will be stripped from the DOJ, it will immensely weaken and affects its exercise of investigative powers and case buildup in the prompt filing and prosecution of offenses in court," Espejo said in the same statement.

Instead of transferring the supervision of the WPP to the courts, the lawyer suggested to enhance DOJ's power to take witnesses under the program even without a court order.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, a former Justice secretary, has opposed the move, saying the WPP “has been an effective government mechanism for the administration of justice in the country.”

He added the program is not influenced by 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." — Rouchelle R. Dinglasan/JDS, GMA News