VIP prisoners face probe

CAUGHT IN THE ACT. Former Batangas Gov. Antonio Leviste is escorted by NBI agents to the Department of Justice for inquest for evasion of service of sentence. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima intends to unravel the “open secret” at the national penitentiary: the special treatment extended by prison officials to high-profile inmates such as former Batangas Gov. Antonio Leviste, a homicide convict.

Speaking on Thursday at a press conference, De Lima said she had ordered Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III to form a fact-finding team to look into how Leviste was able to leave the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) compound without a pass from the Department of Justice.

“We’ve been hearing rumors that things like this are happening there. It’s sort of an open secret,” De Lima said.

She said she had authorized the National Bureau of Investigation to move in, “so we could have proof.”

The fact-finding team is to begin its inquiry on Monday and submit a report to her office two days later, De Lima said.

She said the report would serve as the basis in recommending “disciplinary proceedings” on certain officials including Ernesto Diokno, director of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

De Lima said President Aquino expressed concern after learning of Leviste’s arrest outside the NBP.

She said the President had summoned Diokno and demanded an explanation from him.

Diokno himself began an in-house inquiry on Thursday on how Leviste managed to leave the NBP compound in Muntinlupa City without a permit.

But he said he would welcome “any third-party investigation.”

“Some might say that we’re hiding [something] if we will do the investigation on our own,” Diokno said, adding that he submitted his report on the matter to Mr. Aquino on Thursday morning.

Evasion of sentence

Leviste was charged on Thursday with evasion of service of sentence and his driver, Nilo Solis, was cited as an accomplice.

Senior State Prosecutor Lilian Doris Alejo, who presided over Thursday’s inquest, said Leviste had begged her to order the immediate release of his driver, who was taken to the NBI headquarters in Manila.

“He said his driver had nothing to do with what he did. He said he was ready to die if he had done something wrong,” Alejo said.

Leviste was sentenced to 6-12 years in prison for killing his aide and long-time friend Rafael de las Alas at the LPL Building, which he owns, in Makati City. He had been detained at the NBP since September 2009.

Along with Solis, Leviste was arrested by NBI intelligence agents at around 5 p.m. on Wednesday shortly after he stepped out of the LPL Building.

He said he needed to see a dentist for treatment of a toothache but that he was not able to secure a permit.

Application at risk

De Lima told reporters that the incident would certainly affect Leviste’s reported application for executive clemency. (Under the law, the justice secretary approves and recommends to the President all applications for executive clemency, commutation of sentence and pardon.)

She said she was unsatisfied with Diokno’s explanation on Leviste’s mobility. She said his defense that Leviste was already enjoying privileges as a “living-out prisoner” before he became the BuCor director was “not enough.”

“It’s not an excuse to say that that system was already [existing]. We should be implementing the proper rules and regulations,” she said.

De Lima said she would make sure that necessary changes would be implemented in the NBP.

“Heads must roll here. But we have to make sure that we have the correct facts. That’s why I’m ordering a summary fact-finding investigation,” she said, adding:

“It’s time to put an end to this. That’s why I will be hands-on in reviewing the regulations inside the NBP from now on.”

Like the NBI, the BuCor is under the administrative supervision of the justice department.

Longtime policy

Diokno said Leviste was listed as a “living out” prisoner, which allows him to go out of his prison cell but not the NBP compound.

He said the policy has been implemented since the preceding BuCor administration: “It’s been there even before I came in.”

Diokno also confirmed that aside from Leviste, road rage killing convict Rolito Go was also on “living out” status.

But he denied that the status was awarded as part of VIP treatment to prominent inmates, saying there were 109 “living out” prisoners of varying economic backgrounds.

De Lima said she had ordered Diokno to submit a report on the matter. She said the “living out” privilege was given only to inmates who were nearing the completion of their sentence, suffering from illnesses, and over 70 years old.

“But there should be strict standards in giving that privilege. And living out does not mean going out of the prison premises,” she said.

She added that she had never allowed Leviste to leave the NBP compound since she was appointed justice secretary last year.

Sack him

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said Diokno should be sacked.

“Someone should be held accountable and the probe should be widened because more likely than not, Leviste is not the only one who can get out of jail at will,” the party-list lawmaker told the Inquirer.

Colmenares also said the controversy was a “slap” in the face of the current justice system because it clearly showed that the rich, even if found guilty of crimes, were being given VIP treatment while impoverished people were languishing behind bars even if they were innocent.

But Diokno said that as BuCor director, he had many obligations and depended on his supervisors, Ramon Reyes and Roberto Rabo, to oversee the security operations in the NBP compound.

“This is not just a jail, this is the national prison. That’s why I have my supervisors who look into the daily operations. I also look into prisons across the country aside from the thousands of prisoners here,” he said.

Guards under investigation

Diokno said Leviste’s guard, Fortunato Justo, was being investigated for gross neglect of duty along with two gate guards found to have been on duty when Leviste left the compound.

He named them as prison guards Francisco Liwanag and Hilario Panaguiton. “They have to explain why they didn’t detect Leviste’s whereabouts,” he said.

Prison guards are required to check on the inmates four times a day—at 6 a.m., 12 noon, 4 p.m. and 12 midnight.

Accountability

The three guards are in custody while the investigation is ongoing.

The President expects those responsible for Leviste’s unauthorized trips outside the NBP to be pinpointed and made accountable, according to Edwin Lacierda, his spokesperson.

Lacierda told reporters at a press briefing that the President spoke with Diokno for 10 minutes on Thursday morning.

Told that the Palace appeared to be “soft” on the Leviste case, Lacierda said the media should not make any hasty judgments and should give the concerned officials time to explain their side and make their recommendations to Mr. Aquino.

“The President is a strong and firm believer in due process,” he said. With reports from Cynthia D. Balana and Christine O. Avendaño