House probe on Bilibid illegal drug trade. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA/Philippine Daily Inquirer

A lawmaker questioned the delay in the release of the results of the investigation the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) is conducting on the deadly riot inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) that killed a convicted Chinese drug lord and injured four other inmates last Sept. 28. 

READ: NBP riot: Drug lord killed; 4 wounded

Ako Bicol partylist Rep. Alfredo Garbin noted the delay when he was interpellating Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer-in-charge Rolando Asuncion during the House committee on justice’s inquiry on the illegal drug trade inside the national penitentiary on Thursday. 

The CIDG, headed by Chief Supt. Roel Obusan, has been tapped to lead the probe of the incident.

“I believe that last week the CIDG promised that they will come up with the report one week after the incident. One week na wala pa ring report (It has been a week, yet there is no report)?… Why is it taking so long? Four persons lang involved dito. ‘Yung isa namatay. Bakit gano’n katagal (Only four persons were involved? One died. Why is it taking so long)?” Garbin asked in his interpellation of Asuncion. 

Asuncion said investigators from CIDG told him on Wednesday that the probe is already 80 percent complete. 

He added that the CIDG was still in the process of studying the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footages inside the maximum security compound. 

“They requested yesterday for an additional frame of the CCTV footages and we gave it to the investigators and I think they’re still getting statements of other witnesses,” Asuncion explained. 

Garbin then asked Asuncion that the investigation results on the riot be presented to them by Monday. 

“I’ll try to coordinate with the CIDG but it’s not under me, it’s under the PNP,” Asuncion said. 

The CIDG is looking into different versions of the incident from the inmates who survived the violent scuffle. 

READ: Bilibid riot probers careful as they get different versions

Inmate Clarence Dongail, a former police chief inspector, claimed that he was attacked by another inmate Tony Co after he tried to stop Co and other Chinese convicts from having a pot session inside their cell. 

Dongail said the attack happened while he was in the prison area of Jaybee Sebastian, a convicted kidnapper. Both of them were wounded in the scuffle, along with inmates Peter Co and Vicente Sy who were supposedly with Tony Co’s group. Tony Co was declared dead on arrival at Muntinlupa Medical Center.

But Sebastian and Sy gave different versions of the incident and claimed that Tony Co was not using “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) before the riot happened. 

Sebastian said he was watching the news inside the mess hall when another inmate, Tomas Domeña, attacked him with a bladed weapon.

Prison guard Dennis Alfonso supported Sebastian’s version. He also said they did not recover any illegal drugs or paraphernalia in the scene.