Atty. Jessica Reyes. POOL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Had Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes gone straight to Camp Crame, she would not have the trouble of asking the Sandiganbayan to detain her at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center.
Reyes’ wrong move was noted Monday by Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, PNP Public Information Office chief, as he revealed that she broke her earlier word that she would surrender to the PNP.
But Sindac clarified that Sandiganbayan would still have the final word on where Reyes should be detained. He said he was only raising the possibility that Reyes would be detained at Camp Crame if she had surrendered there.
“[Reyes not surrendering in Camp Crame] does not have any effect with her custody. It has nothing to do about her detention order,” he said in a press briefing.
A Philippine Daily Inquirer source said in a Friday report that Reyes made an agreement with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) last June.
The source said both parties agreed that Reyes would turn herself in to the CIDG so she could be committed to the Custodial Center with her co-accused senators.
This was confirmed by Sindac, adding that they were “surprised” when Senator Juan Ponce Enrile’s former aide went to Sandiganbayan last Friday.
But he that what happened between Reyes and the police was “not a firm agreement but a coordination.”
“It was just like a dialogue that the (CIDG) advised, take it or leave it. They did not take the advice,” Sindac explained.
The PNP-PIO chief added that the police even had a female ward prepared for Reyes.
“We can’t do anything about it now. That’s her choice,” Sindac said.
On the same day she surrendered, the Sandiganbayan Third Division ordered her to be detained at the cramped Quezon City Jail (QCJ).
But the QCJ refused to accommodate Reyes, saying she is a “high-risk” detainee and they cannot secure her with their limited security personnel.
Reyes’ camp filed a motion on Monday, asking the court to commit her at Camp Crame with Enrile, and fellow pork barrel scam suspects Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla.
Enrile is currently under the custody of the PNP General Hospital pending his motion to commit him there.
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