Full probe ordered over 'special treatment' for jailed ex-Batangas gov

A full investigation looms over the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) after government agents arrested one of its high-profile inmates leaving the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) without a pass on Wednesday. Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila de Lima also ordered the relief of the BuCor officials directly in charge of monitoring former Batangas Governor Jose Antonio Leviste, who was jailed on homicide charges. “[The incident] has to be investigated seriously. I have ordered the undersecretary in charge of BuCor to relieve the one directly in charge of Leviste. I authorized the operation because Leviste had reportedly been allowed to go in and out of the Bilibid prison without proper permission. This means someone from inside Bilibid is aware of this practice," she said in an interview on dwIZ radio. She also hinted at sanctions against BuCor chief Ernesto Diokno for allowing Leviste to go in and out of the prison without the proper pass. But she declined to elaborate on the sanctions against Diokno, saying these will depend on the outcome of the investigation. “Kulang ang warning-warning lang... Dapat siguro may more concrete measure na ginawa (Warnings are not enough. There should be more concrete measures)," she said.

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents arrested Leviste in Makati City Wednesday afternoon, after finding he left the NBP without a pass. De Lima dismissed as “very flimsy" Leviste’s claim he had an appointment with his dentist. For its part, Malacañang said it is not getting involved in the incident at this time, saying it will give De Lima the leeway to act on the matter. “This falls under the DOJ’s jurisdiction. An order to investigate is underway, if Secretary de Lima has not already done so," Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said in an interview on dzXL radio. But Coloma also said BuCor officials, possibly including Diokno, may have to take some of the heat for what happened. Back to Bilibid As of Wednesday night, Leviste was brought back to the NBP after a brief detention at the NBI headquarters in Manila, De Lima said. “I don’t think we have basis to detain him (at the NBI)," she said. In 2009 a Makati court found Leviste guilty of homicide charges for killing his long-time friend and aide Rafael de las Alas in 2007. De Lima said her order to the NBI to operate on Leviste was made without the knowledge of anyone from the BuCor. — LBG, GMA News