This may encourage more people to speak up.
“Cebu Representative Gabriel Luis Quisumbing — vice chairman of the House committees on national security and defense and appropriations — has filed a measure (House Bill 2493) seeking to grant rewards, protection, and security to whistleblowers,” reports Charissa Luci in the Manila Bulletin.
The bill will be known as “The Whistleblower Protection, Security, and Benefit Act of 2013.”
HB 2493 ensures protection of whistleblowers against reprisals and criminal and civil liability. It also provides a monetary reward scheme.
The report explained: “According to the measure, a whistleblower shall receive PHP200,000 upon admission into the Witness Protection Program (WPP) if the case is susceptible to pecuniary estimation such as plunder, forfeiture of ill-gotten wealth, bribery, malversation, and damage or injury to government.”
Then, the whistleblower gets an additional PHP100,000 upon the filing of the case with the Office of the Ombudsman and another PHP100,000 upon completion of the testimony.
Photo by Sky Harbor (WikiCommons)
