• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez wants the Department of Justice (DOJ) to seek out and protect whistleblowers in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and other persons who have information against what he calls “massive corrupt conspiracy at work”.
In a statement on Monday (Aug. 25), Benitez said the DOJ must not wait for witnesses to step forward “if we want to try, convict, and imprison all those who have plundered public funds intended to save our people from the threats of flooding.”
“I urge the DOJ to seek out and protect under the mantle of the whistleblower program those officials and employees of the DPWH, along with other persons with key information, who wish to stand as witnesses,” he added.
Benitez said: “The fight to bring to justice those who endanger the lives of our people will be long and hard. But it is something that we cannot set aside, if we wish to change things for the better.”
The Bacolod lawmaker earlier called on DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan to immediately resign from his post, stressing that “the principle of command responsibility demands that he step down.” | GB
