Jaybee Sebastian a gov’t asset? Stupid, says Aguirre

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senator Leila De Lima’s claim that convicted kidnapper Jaybee Sebastian was a government asset is stupid, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said on Friday.

De Lima earlier said that Sebastian was a government asset. She said he has given the government useful information that led to the December 2014 raid in the Bilibid.

READ: De Lima says Jaybee was her asset

The senator initiated the “Oplan Galugad” or the series of raids inside the New Bilibid Prison. The first raid was on Dec. 15, 2014 where members of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) seized firearms, illegal drugs, cash, jewelries and posh appliances inside the prison. Nineteen high-profile inmates were then transferred to the NBI to prevent them from continuing with their illegal activities. Sebastian was not included.

Before the end of 2014, De Lima gave the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) two weeks to dismantle all kubols.

“I told them not to wait for me to be the one to do it…I reiterated that if Jaybee Sebastian has a kubol, it should be dismantled. Do not wait for me to do it,” De Lima told reporters in a previous interview.

Aguirre said if Sebastian was a government asset, he should not have been included in the list of investigative agencies as among the personalities involved in crimes.

READ: De Lima says Sebastian a gov’t asset, OK if he testifies

“Also, if it is true that he was an asset, it is stupid to separate Jaybee from the Bilibid 19 [inmates transferred to NBI after De Lima’s first Bilbid raid],” Aguirre said.

“Why did you separate him from the other high-profile inmates?” he added.

During the House of Representatives inquiry into the proliferation of illegal drugs inside prison, Aguirre presented a documentary that featured Sebastian’s posh office inside the prison. RAM/rga