Leviste arraignment deferred to July 17
MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) A Makati court has ordered that former Batangas governor Jose Antonio Leviste, a homicide convict, undergo a preliminary investigation before his arraignment, which was originally scheduled Friday afternoon.
Leviste’s lawyer, Joseph Benedict Gesmundo, said his client’s arraignment was deferred to July 17 by the Makati Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 66.
The former governor stepped into the Bilibid courtroom past 1 p.m. Friday.
Leviste, who is convicted for homicide, was accused of skipping his sentence when he left the NBP’s minimum security compound in May. He was caught on video while being rearrested in Makati City by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.
The incident triggered intense public outrage as it unraveled other excesses inside the NBP. The controversy also forced Bureau of Corrections Director Ernesto Diokno, a shooting buddy of President Benigno Aquino, to step down from the post.
Originally posted at 3:15 p.m.
