NOY ORDERS PRISON SYSTEM OVERHAUL / NOY MUM ON AUNT'S BID IN ARMM POLL
[PHOTO- Tighter security has been enforced at the Camp Bagong Diwa jail, where members of the Ampatuan clan accused of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre are detained. Manny Marcelo]
MANILA, MAY 28, 2011 (STAR) By Aurea Calica - President Aquino yesterday ordered sweeping reforms in the country's penal system amid reports of certain prisoners receiving special treatment and privileges.
"The President also recognizes the state of prisons in the country and acknowledges that steps need to be taken, especially as regards the ratio of guards to prisoners and congestion due to lack of facilities," presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.
Lacierda said the President wanted to make sure that those liable would be punished accordingly.
"The President has already stated that if investigations hold that government officials should be accountable, then they will be held accountable. We will do what is right, so long as it is clearly what is right – and what is clearly right can only be arrived at by a thorough, unbiased study of the situation," Lacierda added.
Lacierda said the President had ordered the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and his team of economic managers to come up with a list of proposals to reform the penal system.
"In the same way that due process is being accorded to the victims, it must also be accorded to the accused. What the government can assure the public is that the scales of justice will not be tipped over to one side or the other," Lacierda said.
President Aquino, while in Thailand on a state visit, told reporters that he had ordered DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo to initiate the process of cleaning up the penal system.
Robredo began the effort by ordering the relief of Chief Inspector Glennford Valdepeñas, Quezon City jail annex warden in Taguig City.
Valdepeñas was relieved following allegations of giving special treatment to former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., one of the principal accused in the Maguindanao massacre.
Robredo tasked Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno to head the investigation into the allegations that Valdepeñas gave special treatment and privileges to Ampatuan while in detention.
Robredo's order came amid the allegations of special treatment to Ampatuan supposedly shown in the pictures and videos provided by Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu,
whose wife and relatives were among the victims of the massacre.
Mangudadatu claimed that Ampatuan was even seen using a cell phone inside the jail and could walk in and out of detention.
"We will verify pictures/video and their dates to determine if the Ampatuans (were) given privileges beyond what are allowed and who are (the) jail personnel accountable," Robredo said.
Aquino, meanwhile, said he would leave it up to Robredo to investigate the claims.
"Definitely, if that (privileges granted to Ampatuan) happened, then heads should roll. There should be no VIP treatment. I'm sure he (Robredo) will report to me when I get home," Aquino told reporters in Bangkok.
On the other hand, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima assigned Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) chief Manuel Co as concurrent officer in charge of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).
De Lima ordered Co to take over the operations "temporarily" while BuCor director Ernesto Diokno is on leave.
Diokno earlier took a leave of absence to allow the investigation over allegations of incompetence and violation in the implementation of prison rules, particularly in the case of former Batangas governor Jose Antonio Leviste.
The DOJ has created a fact-finding panel to investigate why Leviste was able to slip out of prison without authorization or court order.
The investigation uncovered the supposed privileges given to a select group prisoners, among them Leviste, who was allowed to be a living out prisoner.
Diokno was forced to take a leave of absence and suggested that his deputy Teodora Diaz take over Bucor.
De Lima though explained Diaz, as an insider, cannot head the BuCor, saying there would be always a "cloud of doubt" on the appointment.
She said Co's appointment is proper since his task as PPA chief is almost the same as that of BuCor.
De Lima, however, stressed Co's appointment as OIC would only be temporary.
If Diokno is axed from his post, or if he resigns, Co will still not take over the BuCor, De Lima said.
The fact-finding panel tasked by De Lima to investigate Leviste's caper is set to submit its report following its three-day inquiry.
The fact-finding panel report will be subject to review by De Lima and DOJ Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III.
The DOJ will also submit the panel's report and recommendations to President Aquino.
Cleaning up
De Lima said that after the DOJ submits its findings and recommendations to the President, she would create a technical working group that will address the new string of controversies hounding the penal system.
"My plan is, immediately after this issue with Director Diokno and the Leviste caper, I will create a technical working group that will conduct a deeper review. I also ordered an inventory of inmates not just within the NBP (New Bilibid Prisons) but also within other penal colonies and farms," said De Lima.
There were allegations that prison officials were receiving cuts from the fund allotted for the food of the inmates.
It was also reported this week that a convicted Taiwanese drug trafficker, Frank Chua, had escaped the national penitentiary in 2004 and remains at large.
The family of road rage victim Eldon Maguan also claimed convicted murderer Rolito Go was allowed by prison officials to maintain a separate hut for himself complete with amenities even while in prison.
Recently, inmate Brian Peña, who has been missing for two days, was found dead on Thursday. His body was discovered at Bilibid's maximum-security compound.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is already investigating the killing.
De Lima said she is deeply committed to address these issues and to reform the BuCor.
The BuCor manages the NBP as well as other penal colonies and farms in the provinces.
Convicts detained at these penitentiaries are those who are serving their sentences already.
Suspects still awaiting their sentences are detained in jail facilities managed by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), which is under the DILG.
De Lima also cited the allegations of corruption in the food budgets, bidding and escapes of inmates, which are reasons for the investigation and overhaul of the NBP.
De Lima also ordered the inventory of inmates in the NBP and other penal colonies, in order to check whether there are also similar cases of escapes or living out prisoners, as well as reported VIP treatments.
Robredo, on the other hand, revealed efforts of installing devices to jam cellular phone signals inside jails.
Robredo refused to elaborate on the measures but noted some wealthy inmates are using cellular phones in detention, which is a violation of the law.
"Mobile phones are banned inside all jails, so we also ordered an investigation to find out who allowed inmates to sneak mobile phones inside jails facilities," Robredo said in Filipino.
BJMP director Rosendo Dial confirmed plans to set up jammers to prevent cellular phone signals in the jails.
Dial also confirmed the investigation on the allegations of Mangudadatu regarding the photos and videos of Ampatuan inside the jail.
"In compliance with Secretary Robredo's direct order, a full-blown investigation on all these allegations will be conducted," Dial said.
"BJMP does not tolerate these practices inside its jails."
Dial also said two teams from the BJMP elite tactical unit trained to perform high-risk operations have been deployed to the QC annex jail in Taguig until the investigation is completed. – With Delon Porcalla, Sandy Araneta, Aie Balagtas, Non Alquitran
EARLIER NEWS REPORT FROM ABS-CBN ABS-CBN – Mon, May 23, 2011
Noy mum on aunt's bid for vice gov in ARMM August election
[PHOTO -ONCE-UPON-A-TIME POSTER GIRL MARGARITA 'TINGTING' COJUANGCO]
MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III distanced himself from the reported candidacy of his aunt, Margarita "Tingting" Cojuangco, in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Aquino told reporters "right now, we're still working on the premise that the ARMM elections will be postponed. Is she the candidate? How can we work for a postponement and to have a candidate at the same time?"
Cojuangco, the wife of former Tarlac Rep. Jose Peping Cojuangco Jr., will run as vice-governor in the ARMM come August if Congress fails to pass the administration's priority bill.
She supposedly transferred her voter's registration there, days before the filing of candidacy ended. She is supposed to run under the PDP-Laban.
She earlier declared her family's opposition to the postponement of the ARMM elections to 2013, saying it is unconstitutional and against the law. – from a report by Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News
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