Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza are considered protected witnesses after undergoing evaluation by the Department of Justice.

He said the two appeared before the DOJ for the necessary evaluation in connection with their request to be placed under the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP).

“They are showing good faith. Pinapakita nila na gusto nila magsabi ng tutoo at ito’y sinasabayan nila ng documents and mga notes na kanilang naipon through the years, kaya magandang umaga po ito,” Remulla said.

He explained that although the formal evaluation is ongoing, they are already considered protected witnesses and that a letter has been sent to the Senate President regarding their status.

“They are evaluated, but we consider them as protected witnesses, and we have written a letter to the Senate President about that status. Hopefully, we can talk about it tomorrow morning,” he said.

When asked if they are officially protected witnesses, Remulla confirmed: “Yes. Kasi nga we will be needing their cooperation and we will give them more time for them to gather different documents important to us kasi diyan talaga nakasalalay yung ebidensya na hinaharap. Hindi lang po kwento pero may notes, ledgers at mga kasama na maaari magturo sa mga taong may pananagutan sa ating kinabukasan sa mga darating na araw.”