Bothered by slays, allies question De Lima’s safety in Crame

Philippine Senator Leila De Lima, a former human rights commissioner who is one of Duterte’s most vocal opponents, waves to her supporters after appearing at a court in Muntinlupa City, suburban Manila on February 24, 2017.
The highest-profile critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal drug war was arrested February 24 on charges supporters said were meant to silence her, but she vowed to keep campaigning against killings and “repression”. AFP PHOTO

Friends and allies of Senator Leila de Lima who are concerned about her safety under the hands of the police is asking the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to allow Senate security personnel to guard her while she is detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s Custodial Center.

The brazen killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo inside Camp Crame and the death of an inmate during a riot inside the New Bilibid Prisons despite the Special Action Force (SAF)’s tight security there raise alarm over De Lima’s safety, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said.

READ: Kidnapped Korean strangled inside Camp Crame

“Hindi biro itong mga nakaraang araw na may sinakal at pinatay dito sa loob ng PNP. May sinaksak at pinatay sa loob ng Bilibid na dapat maximum security na hawak mismo ng PNP at SAF pero meron pa ring nakakalusot at may pinapatay. So we are concerned with her safety and security,” Pangilinan told reporters on Friday.

(It’s not a joke that in the past days, one was strangled and killed in the PNP headquarters. One was stabbed and killed inside the Bilibid which should be under maximum security of the PNP and the SAF, but people still got killed.)

PNP spokesperson Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos in turn gave this response. “If si (SPO3 Ricky) Sta. Isabel, (Supt. Raphael) Dumlao and that party ang magsesecure sa kanya, doon may question (If Sta. Isabel or Dumlao would be the ones securing her, that would be worrisome),” Carlos said in a press briefing.

Sta. Isabel and Dumlao were the primary suspects behind the killing of Jee. They were both members of the defunct Anti-Illegal Drugs Group, formerly based in Camp Crame.

Pangilinan said CIDG has allowed members of the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) to join the Custodial security guarding De Lima’s cell.

But Carlos explained there has been no formal arrangement yet on the inclusion of OSAA members to her security, adding that the court did not order the OSAA to provide personnel while De Lima is under police custody.

Carlos also stressed that De Lima will be safe in the PNP’s detention facility.

READ: DILG chief orders Bato: Make sure De Lima iDe s safe

He said there is no reason for her allies to worry about her security because the PNP had kept former Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla safe since their detention in 2014 over pork barrel scam plunder raps.

De Lima has been brought inside the Custodial Center hours after CIDG members arrested her at the Senate. IDL

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