Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo’s action was swift: the administrative relief of the warden of the Quezon City Jail Annex in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, over the alleged special treatment of members of the Ampatuan clan accused of masterminding the 2009 Maguindanao massacre.
Robredo said the relief of J/Chief Inspector Glennford Valdepeñas effective yesterday was akin to a preventive suspension to prevent him from influencing an inquiry into the purported privileges granted former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and other powerful prisoners.
All the other officers, numbering about 20, in the high-security jail at Camp Bagong Diwa were also administratively relieved by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology. They have been reassigned to other posts pending the outcome of the inquiry, according to BJMP Director Rosendo Dial.
Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu complained on Thursday that members of the Ampatuan clan suspected responsible for the massacre of at least 57 persons, including over 30 media workers, were enjoying special treatment at the jail.
Mangudadatu showed reporters photos showing Ampatuan Sr. outside his cell. Some of the photos were published in the Inquirer yesterday.
Robredo said the investigation—to be led by Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno—would involve verifying the pictures and video presented by Mangudadatu, as well as the dates these were taken.
“If the allegations are true, immediate disciplinary action will be imposed [including the] replacement of personnel at [the jail],” Robredo told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “It’s important not only to have fairness [in our treatment of prisoners], but also the perception of fairness.”
He said he would order more surprise inspections of the jail to ensure no VIP treatment of wealthy inmates.
Dial said that Senior Inspector Edgar Camus had been assigned to replace Valdepeñas, and that replacements for the other officers had been called in from the Metro Manila District Jail and other nearby jail facilities.
Chance to explain
Robredo said Valdepeñas, who assumed office only on April 7, would be given a chance to explain during the inquiry.
He said that having been newly assigned at the jail, Valdepeñas might not have been the one in charge at the time the pictures were taken.
Robredo said he planned to invite Mangudadatu and private prosecutor Harry Roque to a meeting on Monday to ask them to present evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the jailers.
Robredo later said Mangudadatu admitted to him last night that the pictures were taken last year.
He said Mangudadatu told him that he could not produce photos this year supposedly showing VIP treatment for the Ampatuans and other high profile inmates at Camp Bagong Diwa.
Robredo called the Inquirer last night to make the clarification after his conversation with Mangudadatu. He said the governor did not say when exactly the pictures were taken and by whom, although Robredo said he guessed it was in August or later.
He said the lapses in security for the VIP inmates had been addressed since those photos were taken.
Asked what prompted Mangudadatu to present the photos now, instead of then, Robredo said he surmised it was out of anger when the jail authorities refused to allow a surprise inspection of Ampatuan’s cell on Thursday.
Mangudadatu’s wife, sisters and other kin were among those killed in the massacre believed to have been the worst incidence of election-related violence in the country.
The governor was angered on Thursday by Valdepeñas’ refusal to permit a group including himself, prosecutors, and relatives of the other massacre victims to inspect the detention cells of Ampatuan Sr., his three sons and other coaccused.
“If you have the money, there is no law,” he had complained to reporters before showing them the photos.
In a phone interview, Puno said the general public might not be aware that the inmates at the Quezon City Jail Annex in Camp Bagong Diwa also had rights, and that the treatment given them was not the same as people already convicted of crimes.
Puno said he had spoken with Mangudadatu concerning the latter’s allegations of special treatment.
“We have to find a way to balance the rights [of the accused and of the complainants],” Puno said.
Presumed innocent
Dial, whom Robredo described as a “straight” fellow, said that the Ampatuans and other influential inmates were not being given favored treatment, and that the BJMP policy was geared toward protecting the welfare of all prisoners.
He said none of the inmates detained at the BJMP facilities had been convicted and should be accorded the presumption of innocence.
Dial said BJMP inmates should be supplied their basic needs such as food and shelter, and allowed to observe their religious beliefs and even some form of entertainment such as watching TV.
He mentioned existing and planned livelihood programs for the inmates.
“There are people who say we’re on the side of the inmates, but they don’t realize that that’s our mandate at the BJMP,” Dial said.
He said there were about 400 BJMP facilities nationwide but fewer than 10,000 jail personnel.
‘Heads should roll’
In Bangkok, President Benigno Aquino III said officials should be held to account if found to have extended special treatment to VIP prisoners.
“[I]f that indeed happened, then heads should roll,” the President said when asked to comment on the photos of Ampatuan Sr. presented by Mangudadatu.
“There should be no VIP treatment [of any prisoner],” he said.
Mr. Aquino spoke with reporters after delivering a speech before members of the Filipino community in Bangkok. He declined to comment fully on the issue, saying he had yet to see Mangudadatu’s photos and video.
The President, who concluded his two-day state visit to Thailand by attending a gathering of overseas Filipino workers, said he was expecting Robredo to submit an initial report on the matter.
Of Robredo’s decision to order the administrative relief of Valdepeñas, the President said: “I’m sure if Secretary Robredo did that, he was convinced of the evidence shown. I’m sure he will report to me when I get home.”
Mr. Aquino also expressed concern about Mangudadatu’s allegations, saying he was closely monitoring the Maguindanao massacre trial.
He said this was not the first time that he had been told of the alleged special treatment enjoyed by the Ampatuans.
According to the President, Robredo informed him of a surprise inspection of the Quezon City Jail Annex.
“What I know is that he received such a report for at least three or four instances. He went there not less than twice on a random day, but he did not see [the alleged special treatment],” Mr. Aquino said.
High-risk prisoners
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she would speak with Robredo about reports that despite their being classified as “high-risk” inmates, the Ampatuans were being allowed out of their detention building.
“We are very much concerned about those reports. We have been hearing about them, especially from the families of the massacre victims. They have been telling us that there is VIP treatment,” De Lima said.
Like the President, she recalled that Robredo had inspected the jail in Camp Bagong Diwa because of such reports.
De Lima also said she had offered the victims’ families assistance from the Department of Justice’s prosecution panel should they wish to file complaints against the jailers.
Malacañang said the President was aware of the issues confronting the prisons and had ordered not only the interior and justice departments but also his team of economic managers to look into the necessary reforms.
“The pictures and video put forward [by Governor Mangudadatu] as evidence are being verified to determine if the Ampatuans are indeed being given special privileges,” Mr. Aquino’s spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a statement.
If the claim is proven true, there will be “immediate disciplinary action and the replacement of personnel [at the jail],” he said.
Lacierda also said the President recognized the state of the prisons and acknowledged that steps needed to be taken, “especially as regards the ratio of guards to prisoners, and congestion due to lack of facilities.” With reports from Jerome Aning and Norman Bordadora