[PHOTO - Convicted killer and former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste faces a DOJ fact-finding probe at the New Bilibid Prisons yesterday. MANNY MARCELO]
MANILA, MAY 25, 2011 (STAR) By Edu Punay - Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Ernesto Diokno took a leave of absence yesterday as the Department of Justice started its investigation on his possible liability for the alleged jail pass of former Batangas governor and convicted killer Jose Antonio Leviste.
But an apparently dissatisfied Justice Secretary Leila de Lima urged Diokno to consider resigning from his post to spare President Aquino from any controversy.
In his letter to De Lima, Diokno said he opted to go on leave "to give a free hand" to the DOJ's fact-finding team. He also promised full cooperation to the DOJ probe saying "whoever is liable must be made answerable."
"It is regrettable that these things happened in the midst of all my efforts in instituting reforms in prison," he said.
He recommended his deputy Teodora Diaz as his temporary replacement.
In an interview with reporters after meeting with Diokno, De Lima however said she would most likely assign DOJ Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III to act as officer-in-charge of BuCor. She said all the deputies of Diokno are practically under investigation and it would not be prudent to assign an insider as OIC.
The DOJ chief said she appreciated Diokno's move but asked him to resign for the sake of the President.
"And then he replied not yet since he would just await results of the investigation and that his fate would be up to the President," she said. "But it's really his personal choice and we are giving him opportunity to air his side."
During his meeting with De Lima, Diokno also claimed that the level of liability on Leviste's case based on command responsibility in the institution would not reach him.
He said he could prove this when he faces the DOJ panel today and the House probe tomorrow.
He also assured the DOJ chief that efforts to address VIP treatment for high-profile inmates in the New Bilibid Prisons are in place since he assumed his post in October last year. He cited his orders for the monitoring of movements of high-profile inmates and giving command responsibility to prison officials supervising the NBP and other penal colonies.
But De Lima said Malacañang "expects immediate changes" in the penitentiary even though he is just seven months in office and despite the limited resources of the agency.
"This is partly about proper discharge of functions and duties… The issue is probably not just about negligence, but more importantly about corruption – who are those who benefited in exchange of privilege for inmates," she stressed.
Diokno earlier said that he will not resign, even as he stressed that he should not be blamed for Leviste's caper. He said he already warned the former governor upon learning of his misdemeanor but was told that it was not Leviste but his twin who was seen outside the prison compound.
Leviste admits mistake
At the start of the DOJ hearing yesterday, Leviste admitted his mistake, adding that it would be "unfair" for anyone to be sanctioned for his misdemeanor because he acted on his own. He also confessed to abusing his living out privilege.
"As God is my witness, may I be struck by lightning, may I be damned to eternal hell if anybody is responsible for me going out. If you want to execute anyone, execute me now because I did not think what I did was so serious," Leviste sad.
He issued the statement when asked by state counsel Wilfredo Tolito if he left the premises of the NBP on his own or if he is protecting anyone. He also invoked his right to remain silent when asked if Diokno had previously warned him.
The former governor, however, justified his action saying he had to go out because he could no longer stand his toothache and had to see his dentist immediately.
He said he tried to seek permission, but no official was around at that time. He said the jail guards did not also check on his vehicle when they passed them by.
Leviste also took note of the security condition at the NBP, saying prisoners can easily escape the 536-hectare facility if they want to because there are seven exit and entry points in the premises. He said lax security within the premises and the housing units inside the prison compound also made it easier for a prisoner to leave unnoticed.
The complaint for evasion of service of sentence against Leviste and his driver Nilo Solis was raffled off yesterday to Makati Metropolitan Court (MTC) Branch 66 under Judge Josefino Subia. The first hearing date of the case has yet to be set by the court.
Leviste was arrested by NBI agents last Wednesday after he was seen at the LPL building in Makati City.
The DOJ has recommended a P12,000 bail for Leviste for violating Article 157 of the Revised Penal Code while bail for Solis for being an accomplice was set at P6,000.
Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon said although bail was recommended for Leviste, it is unlikely that the Makati court will grant him bail for violating Article 157 of the RPC as he is already serving sentence for killing his long-time aide Rafael de las Alas. Fadullon said bail may be granted by the court to Solis.
If found guilty, Leviste would face imprisonment of up to six years on top of his sentence of 12 years for the killing of De las Alas inside his office in Makati City in 2007.
'Make sure it does not happen again'
President Aquino ordered all concerned agencies to ensure that the Leviste incident will not happen again.
"It is important that the mistake will not be repeated. And how do we assure that, there should be an investigation as to what happened. What's with the lax security that prisoners can go in and out of jail?" the President said in a chance interview in Bocaue, Bulacan yesterday where he launched the low-cost housing units for policemen and soldiers.
The President said he also made sure Diokno felt his strong sentiment about what happened.
"I impressed upon him my dismay over what happened. I called him on the same day the incident was reported," Aquino said, reiterating that he was not satisfied with Diok-no's explanation.
The President also insisted that Leviste is not yet entitled to living out privileges, unlike others who have been in the prison facility for several years already.
"How was he able to earn that living out privilege when he just entered (the national penitentiary)… I'm hoping that the DOJ, in their report will be as comprehensive as possible," he said.
He said the DOJ probe would zero in on the culprits behind the privilege granted to Leviste, which only the courts and the DOJ can authorize.
"I'm hoping they (DOJ) finish the investigation by Wednesday (May 25). BuCor is under them. It has to go through a process," he said.
The President will be leaving on Thursday for Thailand, where he will be having a state visit.
'Rotten system'
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Leviste's caper exposed a "rotten system" in the country's penal system.
"Let's face it, in the Leviste case, Leviste personifies a rotten system. It just so happened that he was caught. But (if) many (convicts) have been able to do that (slip out of jail), I don't know," Belmonte told reporters.
He said that would be up to the justice committee to determine, even if its planned inquiry into the incident may just be repeating the DOJ probe.
'No special treatment'
Breaking her silence on her former husband's illegal exit from prison, Sen. Loren Legarda said no special treatment should be given to any person.
"The law should apply to everyone, whether you are rich or poor, holding a position or not," Legarda said.
She said her previous relationship with Leviste was no longer relevant to her considering that they have been separated for almost seven years now and their marriage had been annulled.
"You can understand that since 2005, for the longest time I have not seen the person and over that period of time our marriage was annulled," she said.
The senator also asked that the privacy of her two children with Leviste be respected.
"Spare my children. You will be a parent also," Legarda said in response to questions about her children.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, for his part, urged the President and De Lima to immediately fire Diokno and everyone else under him for allowing prisoners such as Leviste to get out of prison easily. With Aie Balagtas See, Edu Punay, Paolo Romero, Mike Frialde, Marvin Sy
Ex-BuCor chief summoned to probe By Edu Punay (The Philippine Star) Updated May 25, 2011 12:00 AMComments (0)
NBP custodial guard Fortunato Justo, who was assigned to former Batangas Gov. Jose Antonio Leviste, faces a DOJ panel yesterday. Jonjon Vicencio | Zoom
MANILA, Philippines - Former corrections director Oscar Calderon will be included in the investigation into the liability of officials in the unauthorized trip of convicted murderer Jose Antonio Leviste outside the national penitentiary last week.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has ordered the investigating panel to summon Calderon after it was found that the 71-year-old Leviste was granted the privilege to sleep in a private nipa hut within the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) reservation during his watch.
Calderon is expected to face the DOJ panel today, along with current director on leave Ernesto Diokno.
Former NBP superintendent Armando Miranda will also be summoned.
Prison guard Fortunato Justo admitted before the panel yesterday that he had lapses in performing his duty last May 18 when Leviste sneaked out of the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa.
He did not notice that Leviste had slipped out, he added.
State Counsel Wilberto Tolitol, a member of the five-man panel, asked Justo in Filipino: "Did you notice that Leviste was picked up by a vehicle?"
Justo replied: "Di ko napansin, gawa nang mapuno (I did not notice any vehicle because there were many trees)."
Justo said Leviste was one of the 13 "sleep out" inmates assigned to him.
Trust and confidence in Leviste and others in his custody have been a consideration in monitoring them, he added.
Justo was also grilled for inconsistencies in his testimony before the panel and in his report on May 18, the day Leviste had ventured out of the prison compound.
In his incident report submitted to Diokno, Justo said he was able to account for all inmates inside the minimum-security compound – including Leviste – at 4 p.m. that day.
However, he told the panel chaired by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Susan Dacanay that when he made a headcount at 4 p.m., Leviste was no longer around.
"Ang katotohanan po, alas-kwatro nalaman ko na (The truth is, I knew at 4 p.m.)," he said.
"Pinahanap ko sa kasama niya kung andoon pa. Pero napag-alaman ko, wala na (I had his co-prisoner look for him, but I knew that he was not there anymore)."
Justo was placed under preventive suspension a day after Leviste's arrest in his building in Makati.
Other prison officers led by NBP superintendent Ramon Reyes also faced the panel to explain the rules and procedures that allowed Leviste to be given "sleep out" privileges.
Diokno, who is set to face the panel today, has denied liability.
He cited his orders last December ordering the monitoring of movements of high-profile inmates.
Last March he had given command responsibility to officials supervising the NBP and other penal colonies, he added.
The level of liability on Leviste's case based on command responsibility would not reach him, Diokno said.
'Go must be locked up in disciplinary cell'
Convicted murderer Rolito Go must be locked up in a disciplinary cell at the maximum security compound, following reports that he violated "living-out" privileges and prison rules since 2008, the family of his victim Eldon Maguan said yesterday.
Rosario Maguan, mother of Eldon, learned from sources that Go lives at his own "kubol" or makeshift hut at the back of Ina Ng Awa Parish within the NBP reservation.
His hut is near the one previously occupied by lawmaker Romeo Jalosjos.
Jalosjos walked free in March 2009 after staying in prison for 13 years.
Go and 407 inmates in the minimum-security facility were granted "living out" status and 109 could "sleep out," the panel found out.
"Sleep out" prisoners can spend the night in private homes inside the prison compound.
Officials of the Bureau of Corrections said "living out" inmates may move around the NBP compound starting at 6 a.m. But they should report to their custodians for the headcount at 6 p.m.
If they fail to do so, they are declared "missing" and will be moved to maximum security when found.
However, Mrs. Maguan said Go must be brought back to the maximum- and minimum-security compounds because he has been leaving the national penitentiary "hundreds of times since 2008."
Go was already a living out inmate in March 2008 when he was not yet qualified, she added.
Go was listed as a "living out" prisoner, allowing him to go out of his cell but not the NBP compound, Maguan said.
De Lima said Go had been seen several times leaving the NBP compound without authorization.
Go was sentenced in 1994 to a maximum 30 years imprisonment for the killing of Eldon.
In an interview inside the NBP, Go said: "I go out six times a month. Last year, I go out almost everyday for chemotherapy sessions."
Go said his regular check-up is conducted in a Makati hospital.
Maguan said sources informed them that Go, instead of going to the hospital, would proceed to his house in Quezon City, and then return to NBP late at night.
"Mr. Go must be confined in the disciplinary cell while his good conduct time allowance must be immediately terminated by BuCor for breaking several prison rules," she said.
Santiago: Allow 'pay to stay' program for Bilibid inmates
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago asked yesterday the Department of Justice to study the feasibility of a "pay-to-stay" program for minimum security prisoners at the national penitentiary to do away with the practice of bribing prison officials for certain privileges.
"We need to change existing laws, to separate maximum security from minimum security prisoners," she said.
"Minimum security prisoners should be allowed to apply for a 'pay-to-stay' program, if they are willing to pay hotel rates."
Santiago said the program would be similar to what is being implemented in some cities in the United States, which allow some wealthy prisoners to be housed separately from the general population, provided that they pay hotel rates.
"The new law will disqualify any prisoner who has a history of violence, is a sex, drug, or arson registrant, or has a situation or condition that may endanger the health, safety, or welfare of the other pay-to-stay inmates, or the jail staff," she said.
Santiago said on top of being allowed to stay in their own quarters, the prisoners who avail of the pay-to-stay program in the US are also provided with work release programs and the use of communication and electronic devices such as Mp3 players, mobile phones and laptop computers.
When an American is arrested for a non-violent crime in any county or state, he can ask the judge for permission to complete the jail sentence in a pay-to-stay program, she added.
Santiago said the program would apply only to nonviolent crimes such as crimes against public interest, which include fraud, forgery, and falsification; crimes against public morals, including gambling and betting; and nonviolent crimes against property, such as theft and bouncing checks.
The program would not apply to Leviste because he was convicted of the violent crime of homicide, she added.
Santiago said if over the years the directors of the Bureau of Corrections deem that it is a necessary anomaly, "then we might as well legalize it."
"The rule is if we cannot stop a practice which is not advantageous to society, we might as well regulate it," she said.
"We might as well regularize this practice and promulgate rules on how we should choose these people, because apparently the government is unable to stop it unless the justice secretary holds office there." –With Non Alquitran, Marvin Sy
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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