Palace mum on sanctions vs. prisons chief Diokno

Insisting that he deserves due process, Malacañang kept mum Saturday on possible sanctions for Bureau of Corrections head Ernesto Diokno in the wake of the mess surrounding the unauthorized “vacation" of jailed ex-Batangas Governor Antonio Leviste from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Malacañang expects the panel formed by Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila de Lima to come out with its findings and recommendations on the matter “in the coming days." “Siguro hintayin natin ang findings ng DOJ dahil kahit si Secretary De Lima sinabing hindi pa tapos ang investigation (and) siguro it is better for us to wait for the result ng summary procedure," she said on dzRB radio Saturday. Citing DOJ's advice, Valte added that while several groups have called for Diokno’s ouster or at least his preventive suspension, there is a process to be followed before any decision can be made. The calls to oust or suspend Diokno came after National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents arrested Leviste upon seeing him outside the NBP without a pass. She added President Benigno Aquino will act only after studying the findings of the panel investigating the incident. Also, Valte said De Lima had noted that Diokno is a presidential appointee, and that he has the right to due process. Meanwhile, Valte chided Puerto Princesa (Palawan) Bishop Pedro Arigo for suggesting that the "Leviste incident" shows corruption in the justice system is still present even under the present administration. Arigo had been quoted as saying that as long as an inmate has the political influence or money to bribe the police or jail authorities, “VIP treatment is guaranteed." “Siguro unfair na sabihin na ang [VIP treatment for some inmates] ay nangyayari under the current administration. Alam natin medyo matagal nang problema ito which is why the president ran for the presidency on an anti-corruption platform...," Valte said. “Kailangan natin i-address head-on at this point. Kung nangyayari pa ito, then it has to stop now," she added. VIP treatment in jails must stop Earlier, Arigo said the mess involving Leviste’s “vacation" should be a wake-up call to stop the VIP treatment in jails. Inmates should be treated equally in the jail, despite their status in society, said Arigo, who heads the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Commission on Prison Pastoral Care, in an interview on Church-run Radio Veritas. Excerpts of the interview were posted on the CBCP news site Saturday. Arigo said he had been to the national penitentiary several times and noticed that some inmates had been treated “differently" as compared to the treatment given to ordinary prisoners. He said there are those confined in air-conditioned cottages. “You really need to be rich to avail those privileges… you must have money," he said. “The existing system or subculture inside the prison should be investigated," he added. — LBG, GMA News