SENATE Blue Ribbon Committee Vice Chair Senator Erwin Tulfo yesterday said that contractors and officials caught in the flood control scandal should be made to return the public funds they allegedly siphoned from the projects, stressing that the sentiment of the people must take precedence over the law.
“We are not talking about the law. The sentiment of the people should be above the law.” Tulfo pointed out during the committee’s fifth hearing, where he amplified the voices of the thousands of Filipinos who protested on September 21.
“I don’t know if you were listening to the calls of our countrymen, thousands of them who attended the rallies in People Power Monument and Luneta. They were not only shouting against stealing. They were also calling for the return of their money,” the Senator stressed.
Directly addressing the implicated parties in the flood control scandal, Tulfo emphasized: “So the contractors, officials, return the money of the people!”
The said sentiment came about following a brief debate among senators and Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Crispin Remulla and Senator Rodante Marcoleta whether restitution—the return of the thing taken by the offender to its lawful owner–should be a requisite to be admitted as a State Witness under the Witness Protection Program (WPP).
Marcoleta stated that restitution is not a requisite for an applicant to the WPP and that considering such as a basis for a state witness applicant is going beyond the law.
For his part, Remulla said that considering the gravity of the flood control scandal, they should not only consider the provisions of the law but also what is “morally right.”
Remulla said that restitution is being considered a factor in measuring the good faith of those applying for Witness Protection Program.
For Tulfo, the people’s sentiments must take precedence over the law, as he reiterated that the September 21 rally across the country, attended by thousands of Filipinos, send a “loud and clear” message to the government officials that they want the return of the people’s money.
