DOJ to review murder raps vs 22 cops in Bilibid deaths

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla (FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review a complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation against 22 police officers allegedly involved in a conspiracy to murder eight inmates serving life terms at New Bilibid Prison (NBP) by making it appear that they had died of COVID-19 two years ago.

Mico Clavano, a lawyer with the Office of the Justice Secretary, told the Inquirer on Tuesday that the number of possible respondents and the charges could still change, depending on the outcome of the DOJ review.

“The SOJ (secretary of justice) is stern in his desire to hold all those involved accountable,” he said.

In a separate statement, Clavano said Remulla “wanted to validate the facts already presented but would like to inquire more into the incident.”

He said Remulla discussed the matter with NBI officer in charge Medardo de Lemos on Monday.

The NBI last week said it had evidence to back the murder charges against the 22 officers—a police major, two sergeants, 15 corporals, three patrolmen, and a police doctor with the rank of lieutenant colonel, all belonging to the Philippine National Police National Capital Region Police Office (PNP-NCRPO).

There were no Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) personnel among the respondents named in the NBI’s complaint.

One after another

The deaths of the inmates aroused suspicion because they died one after the other in May-June 2020 at the height of the pandemic lockdown despite testimonies from other prisoners that they were in good health. Their remains, except for one, were immediately cremated.

The NBI investigation last year was ordered by then Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra after then-Senate President Vicente Sotto III disclosed on July 19, 2020, that inmate Jaybee Sebastian, considered a key witness by the prosecution against detained Sen. Leila de Lima, died the previous day.

Sotto provided journalists a list of names of the eight other inmates whose deaths were not announced by the BuCor or the NCRPO, which had last custody of them.

The inmates who reportedly died of COVID-19, like Sebastian, were identified as Francis Go (who died on May 28, 2020), Shuli Zhang (May 30), Jimmy Ang (June 1), Eugene Chua (June 2), Benjamin Marcelo (June 2), Sherwin Sanchez (June 4), Amin Imam Boratong (June 5), and Willy Yang (June 17).

All of eight were convicted of illegal drug trafficking, except for Sanchez who was serving time for murder.

BuCor ‘cooperative’

NCRPO chief Police Maj. Gen. Felipe Natividad earlier said that they had started their own investigation in connection with the NBI’s findings.

Assistant Secretary Gabriel Chaclag, the BuCor spokesperson, said they would answer any allegation at the proper venue, whether in the prosecutor’s office or in court. He said that BuCor had been “transparent and cooperative” with the NBI probe.

According to the 73-page report by the NBI’s Death Investigation Division (NBI-DID), the COVID-19 pandemic was just used to cover up the inmates’ killings.

Inconsistencies

It found inconsistencies and irregularities between the statements of the 22 NCRPO personnel and the affidavits executed by other NBP inmates, as well as records and security videos obtained from the national penitentiary.

Sebastian’s death, however, “bore none of the circumstances” found in the case of the eight other inmates, the NBI report said.

Sebastian, who was convicted of carnapping and kidnapping, died on July 18, 2020, due to COVID-19 complications, according to the BuCor.

The eight inmates were all placed in isolation at Building 4 of Site Harry, BuCor’s isolation facility located at the Reception and Diagnostic Center in NBP’s medium-security compound.

No autopsies

The management of the high-profile inmates was under the NCRPO medical and security team in accordance with a May 22, 2020, memorandum of agreement signed by then NCRPO chief Debold Sinas and then BuCor director general Gerald Bantag.

The arrangement was made because of the NBP’s “limited strength and capacities during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Except for Boratong, who was buried in Bulacan province under Muslim rites, the inmates’ remains were immediately cremated—either at Panteon de Dasmariñas in Cavite province or at Manila North Cemetery. This was in compliance with pandemic protocols for COVID-19 deaths, hence no autopsies were conducted.

One of the findings by investigators was that it took up to two to five hours before these inmates, who were supposedly in a medical emergency, were brought out of Site Harry to the NBP Hospital.

“The significant amount of time that passed before the needed medical intervention would have been given to victims makes any man of reasonable mind question the intent of the [respondents] in failing to immediately bring the victims to the nearest medical facility,” the report said.

“These uniform and consistent overt acts and circumstances, indicate that the [respondents] had clung to the plan to kill the victims,” the NBI-DID reported.

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