DAVAO CITY, Philippines—If there’s one lesson that the Philippine government could learn from US President Barack Obama ‘s decision on commuting the prison term given to the “Wikileaks” man, it is the government’s treatment of whistleblowers.
Obama’s decision is certainly controversial but for TXTPower, a consumer advocacy group based in the Philippines, called the step as a “positive development.”
“This is a positive development, and a turn around from the Obama administration tough talk against whistleblowers on illegal surveillance being done by the government,” said Anthony Ian Cruz, TXTPower president, told DavaoToday in an interview Thursday.
On January 18, Pres.Obama granted executive clemency to Chelsea Manning, a US army soldier, who leaked thousands of secret dossiers to Wikileaks in 2010: Manning is set to be released in May.
The US government’s decision came after Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, agreed last week to extradition to the US if Manning will be freed.
The Philippines has also its share of political controversies—political, graft and corruption, shady government contracts— in a national scale exposed by the so-called “whistleblowers.”
Among these are: former Commission on Audit auditor Heidi Mendoza, Retired Lt. Cl. George Rabusa, who served as the budget head of the Armed Forces’ Deputy Chief of Staff for Comptrollership, Rodolfo Lozada Jr, former chief executive officer of the Philippines Forest Corporation, Rosebud Ong, a former civilian narcotics agent, Clarissa Ocampo, a senior vice president of Equitable PCI Bank, Vidal Doble, a former agent of Intelligence Service of the AFP, among others.
Taking cue from Obama’s move, Cruz pointed out that the public should “protect the whistleblowers to encourage citizens to jealously guard against abuses of authorities.”
Legislative measures that seek to strengthen both the government and corporate responsibility to protect those “who blow the whistle” have been filed in Congress and the Senate.
For instance, the late Sen. Miriam Santiago filed Senate Bill 1883 or known as “An Act Establishing A Whistleblower Bill of Right.” In 2012, Congress has its own Whistleblowers Protection Act or House Bill 5715 aimed at supporting the prosecution of errant and corrupt public officials.
“Our Congress should also take a look at the scope, breadth and depth of U.S. surveillance in the Philippines, and against Filipinos in the U.S. — not to mimic spying practices, but to denounce them. Espionage by the U.S. against the Philippines is a gross betrayal of the much-touted alliance and special relations,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the Foundation for Media Alternatives, another advocacy group in the country that advances the rights and freedom in the cyberspace, sees the importance of using “anonymous platforms” for whistleblowers.
“While I think anonymous platforms for whistleblowers are very important in a post-Snowden revelation age where people fear for their safety and security online and offline, we should not forget that safe whistleblowing entails a whole lot more than technology,” Nica Dumlao, programme coordinator, Internet Rights, at the Foundation for Media Alternatives said in a statement back in 2015.
“Whistleblowers need strong legal protections to protect them from retaliation and enable them to report offenses safely and free,” she added. (davaotoday.com)
