Bill seeks monetary grant, security for whistleblowers

MANILA, Philippines – To boost the government’s anti-corruption campaign, a bill has been filed in the Senate that seeks protection and benefits for whistleblowers.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV filed Senate Bill 290 to encourage witnesses to corruption in public offices to surface and share information that would be helpful in pinning down erring officials.

In the bill that he filed, the senator is pushing for providing a daily allowance, housing, and personal security for whistleblowers. It also seeks to provide them with an additional monetary grant of either least 10% of the amount that may be recovered with the informer’s help, or P1 million. 

“Several laws have been created to encourage whistleblowing [but] the existing legal framework barely meets the need for whistleblowers’ protection and support, and fails to provide them attractive incentives, considering the risks whistleblowers face when they surface,” the senator said in a statement Sunday, August 28.

“Many potential whistleblowers are discouraged from surfacing due to the risks it involves, including the security threat it entails, which sometimes completely destroy their future and prevent them from having a normal life,” he added.

The measure also penalizes companies or employers that will not accept qualified applicants if they are seen as a prospective whistleblower.

The Whistleblowers’ Protection Act was among the bills endorsed by former president Benigno Aquino III that weren’t approved in the 16th Congress. Versions of it in the Senate and the House of Representatives have both been left pending at the committee level. – Rappler.com