Recaptured prisoner feigning madness, says De Lima

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila De Lima on Monday said she already ordered the New Bilibid Prisons to remove recaptured prisoner Rommel Laciste from its psychiatric ward.

De Lima said she talked to Laciste over the weekend and came to the conclusion that he is not suffering from mental disorder.

Laciste, a convicted killer, escaped from the national penitentiary on August 15. After he was recaptured last week, he said he escaped alone by boarding a delivery truck loaded with rice hull. Then, he again changed his story saying he was on board the truck with Go and other Chinese nationals. He said he got down in Baclaran and walked all the way to Sampaloc where he boarded a bus going to Isabela.

Laciste said he decided to escape because he was threatened by a fellow inmate after he failed to pay the P24,000 he owed him.

In talking to Laciste, De Lima said “he admitted that he only concocted the story to pin the blame to someone else.” De Lima added that it was not likely that he was with Rolito Go because Go disappeared a day before Laciste escaped.

De Lima added that she also informed Laciste that he would be facing another criminal complaint for escaping from the national penitentiary.