General Admission
Whistleblower
By Al S. Mendoza
A WHISTLEBLOWER is one who exposes to the public an alleged anomaly or wrongdoing.
Usually, those exposed are government officials, if not politicians.
To be a whistleblower does not make him rich.
In fact, he begins a new life detached from his usual, mostly happy, routine.
Shielded from public view.
Given protection for his life and limb.
A recipient of government’s barely enough financial aid.
And, most painful, because he lives in constant fear, his family will become almost non-existent.
Fractured are the whistleblower’s relations.
The wife suffers in silence.
The kids are lost in school, childhood and society.
The parents feel for their whistleblower-son.
Tragically, some whistleblowers end up dead.
The lucky ones survive, but they live in virtual loneliness, if not misery.
That’s because the government’s witness protection program sorely lacks in budget to sustain a whistleblower’s financial standing.
Thus, a whistleblower is deprived of a little luxury, like malling or going to the beach with the family.
Those who were spared of vengeance, of bodily harm, live today in hunger, if not anger.
Sandra Cam was the famous jueteng whistleblower.
She’s still around, and continues to ask: “Whatever happened to my efforts? They were all in vain.”
Jun Lozada was the famous whistleblower that stopped the million-dollar ZTN communications deal.
He survived kidnapping, and he is still around, but he is now asking: How come I am now the accused?
Col. George Rabuza was the famous whistleblower of the million-peso payoffs to military officials, including giving P50 million each for retiring generals.
One of those Rabuza had tagged was Gen. Angelo Reyes, who shot himself to death for reasons known only to him.
Like the exposes of Cam and Lozaga, nothing also came out of Rabuza’s equally courageous act.
The Ombudsman dismissed Rabuza’s accusation for his failure to prove that what he had disbursed to his superiors were government money.
Always, heroism is a thankless job. It merely uplifts the spirit.
(Thank you to the one above me, the one above my compadre Jun Velasco, Gonz Duque. Gonz saw wisdom in my suggestion that we build a catch basin, as much as possible in every town in the province prone to floods. The catch basin will serve as aid to help arrest flooding and using the “arrested” rainfall and water released from dams for watering and other irrigation needs during the dry season when water is scarce. It will be expensive, but grants from abroad can be tapped to finance the project. Philanthropists like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett may also be willing to give it a second look when properly approached. Guv Spines and well-meaning officials of the province, why not give it a shot? You need help? Call Gonz and me and we will come running. Knowing Gonz, he’ll say, yes, pronto. OK, Kaaron Gonz?)
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