Sandra Cam: De Lima lying through her teeth

MANILA - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima denied Wednesday accusations from whistleblower Sandra Cam that she allegedly aided in the escape of the Reyes brothers and ignored a whistleblower who exposed corruption in the Bureau of Corrections. Cam, a former whistleblower who exposed the alleged links of the Arroyo family to jueteng, broke down before the hearing of the bicameral Commission on Appointments as she accused de Lima of inaction on several cases. Cam said the Department of Justice failed to file charges against then BuCor Director Gaudencio Pangilinan despite a fact-finding report that showed anomalies in the bureau. She said de Lima even removed Prison Guard 3 Kabungsuan Makilala from the witness protection program even after he exposed the scam inside BuCor. "Atty. Leila de Lima is lying through her teeth regarding this panel report...Nandito ako dahil linalaban ko ang mga kasamahan kong whistle-blowers. Hindi po ako papayag, Mr. Chairman, na gagawin kaming tanga-tangahan. We risk our lives here. Simula pa kay Mrs. Arroyo lumabas kami na walang kapalit. Gusto po namin ng tuwid na daan. Gusto po namin ng katotohanan," she said. She also blasted de Lima for treating whistleblowers as "inutile." "I want to emphasize that as president of the whistle-blowers' association, we are not maliliit na tao. We are all professionals here, we are working for the truth," she said. For her part, De Lima said she will not be taking up the challenge to file a libel case against Cam. "I won't be wasting my time in doing that," she said. However, she denied ever aiding the Reyes brothers to escape the country, saying that at least two immigration personnel lost their jobs because of the escape. "To insinuate that I am party to an illegal act of escaping is too much. I will never do that." She also denied inaction on the case of Pangilinan, saying the panel report was submitted to the Office of the Executive Secretary. ANC, June 4, 2014