Leviste case just the tip of the iceberg, says De Lima

MANILA, Philippines—Convicted killer Rolito Go and other high-profile inmates have also been seen leaving the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) compound without authorization, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said on Thursday.

The case of former Batangas Gov. Antonio Leviste is “just the tip of the iceberg,” De Lima said.

She said an informant inside the state prison had sent her a text message stating that Go had been going in and out of the NBP and that he had been staying in a house in the compound.

“My next target is to check that particular house and see who gave him that privilege to have a house inside the facility,” she said at a press conference.

Cell phones for rent

De Lima said she had also ordered the review of security arrangements in the NBP compound, including the prison guards’ use of cell phones.

She said she had received information that an inmate who ordered the killing of Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Assistant Director Rodrigo Mercado issued his orders through a cell phone obtained through a prison guard.

Some enterprising guards have been “renting out” their cell phones to prisoners, De Lima said, quoting an informant.

“Isn’t the use of cell phones prohibited in the NBP and other jails? So how come during previous raids, cell phones and other prohibited items are still being recovered?” she said.

Drug and other problems

De Lima said she met with BuCor officials during the wake for Mercado and discussed with them the needed improvements in the NBP. She said she also spoke with them last Monday, during a visit to the compound.

“We took up the drug problem and other problems inside the NBP. I told them that it’s about time we applied command responsibility,” she said.

De Lima also told reporters at the Senate that BuCor officials and guards could face charges of infidelity in the custody of prisoners over Leviste’s unauthorized trips.

“That may be filed [against BuCor Director Ernesto Diokno] depending on the extent of his knowledge,” De Lima said before the start of a Senate hearing on bills strengthening the Anti-Money Laundering Law and defining terrorist financing as a crime.

NBI probe

The National Bureau of Investigation started its inquiry on Thursday into Leviste’s “privileges.”

NBI spokesperson Cecilio Zamora said at a press conference that investigators of the bureau’s office in the National Capital Region would also look into the case of other inmates enjoying the same special treatment in the process of determining the culpability of BuCor officials and personnel.

Asked if Diokno could be charged as a result of Leviste’s arrest for evasion of service of sentence, Zamora said: “We still have to see if culpability will reach his level.”

Zamora also said the NBI had received information that Leviste was previously able to make unauthorized trips outside the NBP twice or thrice.

But this still has to be verified, he said. With reports from TJ Burgonio and Jeannette I. Andrade