NBI detainee charged for unauthorized furlough

Dera and six NBI security officers at the DOJ to undergo inquest proceeding.

Charges have been filed against Jose Adrian Dera, a high-profile inmate at the National Bureau of Investigation, for allegedly bribing security officers to let him go in and out of the detention facility.

The NBI filed charges of violation of Article 212 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), or corruption of public officials, against Dera, while six still unnamed NBI security personnel who allegedly accompanied Dera were accused of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and bribery under Article 10 of the RPC.

Mark Anthony Te, one of the lawyers of Dera, argued that his client went out of the facility to seek medical care because he was experiencing “acid reflux.”

“He was not feeling well. He had to leave [to go to the hospital] and he made the request to some NBI personnel and they let him,” Te said on Thursday. But when asked who the NBI personnel was and if Dera’s request was approved, Te said he didn’t know.

Dera made the headlines in recent years as former Sen. Leila de Lima’s coaccused in a charge of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trade inside New Bilibid Prison.

Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano IV said no “trip ticket” or any court order that approved Dera’s leaving was issued, thereby making his getting out of the facility on Tuesday night “unsanctioned.”

Additionally, Clavano said that around P100,000 worth of cash was confiscated from Dera at the time of his arrest in front of the NBI Detention Center on Tuesday at midnight.

Te said this was not his personal money but were “chipped in” by the inmates for their food in the facility.

When asked what the purpose of Dera having such an amount of money outside the facility, both Clavano and Te said they had no knowledge.

Conflict of interest

Clavano said the NBI detention facility chief who was fired shortly after Dera’s arrest could also face charges for the incident.

During the preliminary investigation, the six security personnel were represented by Te since the suspects don’t have their own lawyers yet.

Clavano said this is one of the problems they are facing in the case because the Public Attorneys Office (PAO) refused to take the suspects as clients due to the order released by PAO chief Persida Acosta prohibiting PAO lawyers from representing respondents of cases in which they may also represent the complainant, resulting in a “conflict of interest.”Clavano said this could affect their investigation because they prefer that the suspects make their affidavit in the presence of a counsel to ensure “due process.”

The Inquirer sought Acosta’s comment on whether the PAO is considering representing the respondents since the complainant is a government agency and not a private individual but has yet to get a response at press time.

The inquest for the case was scheduled on July 19, which by then Clavano hoped the suspects would already have their own lawyers.

READ: Another high-profile Bilibid inmate who testified vs De Lima dies