De Lima names temporary head of Bureau of Corrections

(Updated 10:57 a.m.) Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday has assigned Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) head Manuel Co as the concurrent officer-in-charge of the Bureau of Corrections. Co will temporarily head the bureau that has been besieged recently by allegations of ineptitude and corruption, foremost of which was former Batangas Gov. Jose Antonio Leviste's unauthorized trip outside the New Bilibid Prison on May 18. Earlier this week, BuCor director Ernesto Diokno took a leave of absence to give the DOJ a "free hand" in investigating Leviste's so-called caper. Diokno had recommended that his deputy, Teodora Diaz, replace him while he is on leave. But on Friday, De Lima said that a BuCor insider cannot head the bureau temporarily because "they will always be under a cloud of doubt." Asked why she decided to pick Co as BuCor office in charge, De Lima said: "He is competent. And his line of work at the PPA is similar with the work at BuCor." The BuCor and the PPA are attached agencies of the DOJ. The fact-finding panel assigned by De Lima to look into Leviste's caper is set to finish within the day its report stemming from its three-day inquiry. The report will be subject to the reviews of De Lima and her undersecretary Francisco Baraan III. After which, De Lima will submit the report to President Benigno Aquino III, who will act on the recommendations made by the DOJ. New DOJ body to probe more allegations Also on Friday, De Lima said that after the DOJ submits its findings to the President, she will create a technical working group that will address the new string of controversies hounding the BuCor and the NBP leadership. It has been reported that prison officials have been getting commissions from the money allotted for the procurement of food for Bilibid inmates. It was also confirmed this week that a detained Taiwanese drug lord, Frank Chua, has escaped the national penitentiary in 2004 and has remained at large. More recently, inmate Brian Peña, who has been missing for two days, was found dead on Thursday with his body unearthed at Bilibid's maximum security compound. The National Bureau of Investigation is already looking into the killing, De Lima said. In the interview, De Lima is "deeply committed" to address these issues and to reform the BuCor. "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 but also within other penal colonies and farms," said De Lima. The BuCor does not only manage Bilibid, but also penal colonies and farms in the provinces. Those who are detained at these penitentiaries are those who are serving their sentences already. Those who are still awaiting their sentences are detained in jail facilities managed by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), which is under the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). — RSJ, GMA News