‘Prison security tight when Maguindanao massacre suspect killed self’

The head of the Quezon City Jail Annex in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, claimed that security measures were in place when a suspect in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre jumped off the roof of the four-story prison to his death on Monday afternoon.

Jail warden and officer in charge Senior Inspector John Conrad Basilio on Tuesday said in an interview that security in the prison was tight when Police Officer 2 Hernanie Decipulo Jr. committed suicide.

“There were guards patrolling the visiting area at the roof of the jail when the incident happened. The fence that we put up around the area [had not] been tampered [with],” Basilio added.

“There was ample security at that time. However, he can find ways to do his plan if he is really desperate to execute it no matter what security measures we may have in place,” he said as he noted that this was the first suicide case inside the prison.

According to Basilio, Decipulo, 38, was entertaining his wife, Norhaya, at the visiting area on the roof of the Quezon City Jail Annex at around 4 p.m. on Monday when he suddenly said, “Mauuna na ako sa iyo (“I’ll go ahead).”

He then went to the edge of the roof, jumped off the building, which was about 40 feet high, and landed in the middle of a badminton court. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

A member of the 1508th Regional Mobile Group, Decipulo was one of the nearly 200 accused in the murder of 57 people in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre. However, he and 11 other police officers turned state witnesses.

Basilio said that Decipulo’s co-inmates were taken aback by his death as they described him as a generally optimistic man although he suffered bouts of depression in recent weeks.

“Even his wife said he looked depressed when she visited him that day and noted that he was talking about the slow progress of the Maguindanao massacre case,” he said.

Basilio added that they would implement stricter security measures following Decipulo’s death.

“We will increase the visibility of our prison guards. Even though our visiting area is already [surrounded by] steel matting, we will add additional barriers along the sides and at entry and exit points,” he said.