‘Rosebud’ already out of Witness Protection Program

Mary “Rosebud" Ong, the former anti-narcotics civilian agent who once accused Sen. Panfilo Lacson of involvement in criminal activities, has been taken off the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP). No less than Justice Secretary Leila de Lima confirmed this before Lacson during Tuesday’s Senate finance committee hearing on the proposed budget of the Department of Justice (DOJ), which is in charge of the WPP, for 2012 “I just signed the termination," De Lima said during the hearing after Lacson asked her for updates on Ong. De Lima first refused to answer, citing the confidentiality of the WPP. But when Lacson said he was informed that Ong has already been taken off the WPP, the justice chief confirmed it. De Lima said the decision was made after the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) told her that the threats against Ong have been “considerably reduced." But Lacson said there were “no threat in the first place," only “imagined" threats. Ong, in 2001, accused Lacson of involvement in drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom and summary execution. Lacson had denied all the accusations. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMA News