Food donations, vest hound Bella in Naga jail

Questions about her bulletproof vest and rumors that she fed  inmates and jail guards hounded Bella Ruby Santos on day 1 of her life behind bars.

Investigator Arnel Pura of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) yesterday said they asked Santos to put on an NBI  bulletproof vest when she arrived at the airport last Monday after receiving information that there were “sympathizers” who want to attack Santos.

She wore the vest again when she was brought before Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia on Tuesday morning.

“We need to apply precautionary measures. We can’t disregard the information. We are answerable to the court for whatever would happen to Bella,” Pura told Cebu Daily News.

Santos’ lawyer Rameses Villagonzalo downplayed reports that her family delivered food to inmates and  guards of the Naga City Jail where she is detained  pending trial on charges of kidnapping and homicide.

“Santos’ mother and sister brought several kilos of ‘humba’ (stewed pork) and fish, which they fed to all the detainees. All the jail guards also ate on the condition that media wouldn’t be allowed to get inside the jail,” said a police  source who requested anonymity.

“It’s normal for anyone to share foods with detainees. That’s not a big deal. Anyway, Santos is already imprisoned,” Villagonzalo told CDN.

Cebu Daily News tried to contact the Naga City Jail but its warden Genesis Mongcopa wasn’t around to answer the allegations. Jail guards  refused to comment on the report, saying they were not authorized to address the issue.

Santos and her British partner Ian Charles Griffiths are facing charges of kidnapping with homicide in relation to the death of 6-year-old Ellah Joy Pique last Feb. 8.

The 35-year-old Santos was arrested by the NBI-7 inside SM Megamall in Metro Manila last Friday after eluding an arrest warrant for almost three months.

Judge Ester Veloso had her committed to the Naga jail pending trial.

“Bella likes the fact that she is detained in Naga to be near her family,” Villagonzalo said.

Defense lawyers plan to  file a petition for bail. Public prosecutors  will ask the court’s reconsideration to detain Santos at the Cebu provincial jail instead and to decide whether to release the DNA test results of blood samples taken from Santos’ belongings at home.