5 prison execs charged, suspended

Five Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officials have been charged administratively and suspended for 90 days in connection with the “escape” of convicted killer and former Batangas Gov. Jose Antonio Leviste from the national penitentiary, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Wednesday.

In a news briefing, Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III said separate administrative cases were filed against Ramon Reyes, Armando Miranda, Dante Cruz, Fortunato Justo and Roberto Rabo for their role in Leviste’s unauthorized furlough from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.

Reyes is the current chief superintendent of the NBP while Miranda was his predecessor who granted the “sleep-out status” of Leviste.

Exempted from headcount

Cruz was then the chief of the NBP’s minimum security compound who exempted Leviste from the daily “physical headcount” of living-out inmates. Rabo, on the other hand, succeeded Cruz when the latter was transferred.

Justo was Leviste’s custodial guard who purportedly allowed the former Batangas governor to leave the NBP compound several times without the necessary permits from the DOJ.

Baraan said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima approved the filing of charges against the prison officials based on the recommendation of the fact-finding panel that the latter created to look into the incident.

He said resigned BuCor director Ernesto Diokno was not included as respondent since he had already quit from his post even before the investigation committee could conclude its probe.

Beyond reach

“We cannot file any (administrative) case against Diokno because he is no longer part of the BuCor or the DOJ,” Baraan told reporters.

Aside from the administrative complaints, Baraan said a criminal case for “infidelity in the custody of a prisoner” would also be filed against Justo with the Muntinlupa prosecutor’s office.

Baraan said De Lima had given the five officials a chance to explain why they should not be cited administratively for their supposed negligence in the unauthorized out-of-prison trip of Leviste on May 18 which was caught on camera by a news crew of ABS-CBN.

“They submitted their explanation and the secretary the existence of probable cause to proceed with the investigation against them,” Baraan said.

According to Baraan, the justice secretary had issued Department Order 665 designating State Counsel Amenda Leano-Garcia and Prosecution Attorneys Rafael Villanueva and Amelia Ponio “as hearing officers to conduct the formal investigation.”

Liabilities

He said the panel would determine the BuCor officials’ administrative liabilities and impose the necessary penalties against them.

In a memorandum dated July 25, De Lima said the fact-finding panel found prima facie evidence to charge Reyes with grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

“As superintendent of the NBP, you failed to exercise your duty… as you did not cause the cancellation or revocation of the privilege status granted to inmate Leviste despite receiving reports of (his) out-of-jail trips,” De Lima said.

She said Reyes also “failed to lay down appropriate security measures to prevent the happening of the escape incident.”