Soon after the hearing, Mendoza received praises from various sectors and from the public who used online media to express their admiration. She was called a heroine by some. Senators, congressmen and other personalities also tweeted their support for Mendoza, who appealed for protection as she fears for her life.
The story of Mendoza is not new in the Philippine setting. Many other so-called whistleblowers have come out in the open and accused the government of corruption, fraud and graft. Among the most prominent whistleblowers in recent history are Jun Lozada, Sandra Cam, Vidal Doble, Nancy Gadian and Marlene Esperat.
Lozada accused the government of bribery in connection with the multi-million peso NBN-ZTE Broadband project. Cam alleged top officials received jueteng payola. Doble accused former President Gloria Arroyo of cheating in the 2004 polls with the 'Hello Garci' scandal. Gadian accused AFP officials of pocketing millions of pesos from the RP-US Balikatan funds. Esperat, a journalist, exposed the Bolante Fertilizer Fund Scam. They are just a few of the many other witnesses who saw rigged transactions in the government.
The question now is, what happened to their revelations?
After being milked by officials in several hearings and investigations, after all the media glitz and the publicity, what happened? The answer is simple: nothing much. Where are the whistleblowers now? They're probably still under the Witness Protection Program, probably hiding and still fearing for their lives. Worst, Esperat has been killed. And yet, no one was held accountable for all the alleged crimes.
Whose fault? The country's justice system. Unfortunately, its speed is just a little bit faster than a rabbit. It's really difficult to convict an official in the country. Despite several pieces of evidence, it seems no one can pin them down. The public, too, is at fault. They show their support, but after a while, they lose interest. When the public loses support for a whistleblower, the media follows (and vice versa). It's as if a whistleblower is just a flavor of the month.
This is a sad reality. The Senate and the House of Representatives hold all these hearings in the aid of legislation. But there seems to be no law curbing all these corruptions and issues. In fact, the Whistleblower Protection Act is still pending in Senate.
Hopefully, this will all change with the revelations of Mendoza. Hopefully, something good will happen. Hopefully.
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