Atty. Jessica “Gigi” Reyes. POOL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Did Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes panic due to the hoots of hardened male criminals or to the stress of jail life?
Officials of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) could not say for certain, as they described to the Sandiganbayan Third Division a grim picture that Reyes is facing as she is detained at the Bicutan female dormitory at Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig.
Reyes’ lawyer Anacleto Diaz said his client may have panicked after she purportedly heard “howls” from the male inmates.
Reyes was detained at the female dormitory on the fourth floor of the building, which means she has to go through three flights of stairs and pass through the second and third floors, which house the male dormitory.
Apparently, Reyes heard the hoots of inmates at the time of the finals game of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), BJMP medic officer Jaime Claveria Jr. told the court.
“I believe it was during the final seconds of the game when the howls (happened) emanating [due to] the excitement of the game,” Claveria told the court.
Female jail warden Jundelina Jagunap had a different story. She said Reyes panicked when she was told of the jail rules in Camp Bagong Diwa.
Associate Justice Samuel Martires, however, was not buying the possibility that Reyes panicked due to the rules in jail.
He said after reading the BJMP rules, it is his “common sense” that it could not have contributed to Reyes’ anxiety attack.
Reyes was brought back to Camp Bagong Diwa from the Philippine Heart Center where she had been confined purportedly due to chest pains.
Reyes’ doctor Anthony Lontoc told the court that Reyes’ condition has stabilized since she was rushed to the Heart Center.
Reyes is the co-accused of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile for plunder in the pork barrel scam.
The former Enrile aide was ordered detained at the city jail in Camp Bagong Diwa. Meanwhile, Enrile was rushed to the Philippine National Police General Hospital due to his frail health shortly after he surrendered to the police.
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