Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III explains that a perimeter fence should be placed around the area where ex-Batangas Gov. Leviste's 'kubol' is situated. Mark MerueñasA team of government investigators on Saturday found some "disturbing" shortcomings in the way officials of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) secure their minimum-security inmates in the sprawling 366-hectare compound in Taguig City.
Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III and a panel of investigators from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) made the discovery during an ocular inspection of the national penitentiary to determine what or who facilitated jailed ex-Batangas governor Jose Antonio Leviste's "escape" last May 18.
Leviste, convicted in 2009 for shooting his long-time friend in 2007, was re-arrested, transferred to the maximum security facility, and was slapped with fresh charges of evasion of service of sentence.
The DOJ-NBI team first inspected a pair of abandoned bamboo huts or kubol, that Leviste allegedly constructed and where he used to stay before his "escape."
The two huts – one served as Leviste's house and the other his office – were sitting on the edge of a lagoon in an area that has no perimeter fence.
Originally considered a minimum security and "sleep out" prisoner, Leviste did not only have the privilege to freely roam NBP compounds but he also had the freedom to erect his own house on designated areas inside.
NBP's Superintendent II Ramon Reyes, who ushered the investigators around, informed Baraan that Leviste's hut used to have electricity, an electric fan, and a television set.
"He is living a better life than his other fellow inmates," Baraan told GMA News Online.
Authorities said Leviste belongs an elite group of "two to three" inmates who had enough funds to construct their own kubol.
At the other side of the lagoon is a government relocation site that is home to some 7,000 families.
"Wala man lang bakod. So ang mga nasa loob ay puwedeng lumabas at ang mga nasa labas ay puwedeng pumasok," Baraan said.
This page requires a higher version browser
From Leviste's huts, the investigators proceeded to the three entry and exit points of the NBP compound that Leviste could have used during his "escape."
Also, Baraan said members of the investigating panel were sure Leviste was on board a vehicle when he left the compound.
"Now, the big question is how did he get past the gates and the security personnel?"
Baraan presented two theories as to how Leviste managed to slip through the guards: either security men guarding the gates did not know how Leviste looked and allowed him out, or the guards were bribed to let him leave.
In response, however, Reyes said he was certain none of their officials and security personnel were bribed or connived with Leviste.
He said Baraan's first theory might have been plausible.
"Our panel will determine if there was gross negligence, total ineptitude, or even connivance such that jail personnel were acting upon orders from higher officials," Baraan said.
Homicide convict Antonio Leviste's own bamboo hut or 'kubo' inside the New Bilibid Prisons. Mark MerueñasCurrently two NBP officials and eight non-officers have been suspended and are all undergoing investigation.
Also during the ocular inspection, investigators noticed the gates had no closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera installed to monitor the vehicles going in and out of the compound.
There was not even a logbook in one of the three guardhouses near the gates.
DOJ proceedings
The panel of investigators will formally start holding proceedings at the DOJ main office in Manila and will invite several NBP officials for interrogation.
The members of the panel of investigators are Senior Assistant State Prosecutors Susan Dacanay and Ma Emilia Victorio; Ruel Lasala, National Bureau of Investigation department director for Intelligence Services; State counsel Wilberto Lolitol; and State counsel Charlene Mae Tapic.
Leviste's criminal case stemmed from a January 12, 2007 shooting incident in Makati City in which the governor shot dead his long-time aide Rafael de las Alas, who at the time was allegedly demanding a pay hike from the governor.
The former governor claimed the shooting was only an act of self-defense against.
Leviste was charged with murder but the court convicted him in January 2009 for the lesser offense of homicide, saying that the shooting to death of De las Alas did not appear to be premeditated.
Lack of funding
For his part, Reyes admitted the NBP's security system was still wanting and he described security at the gates as only "moderately strict."
He attributed these deficiencies to the institution's lack of funding.
Reyes said a perimeter fence could not be erected to separate the NBP from the government relocation site not only because of insufficient funds but also because the management had decided not to undertake any new construction work inside the compound due to a long overdue plan to transfer the NBP to Rizal province.
"There has been a plan since 2004 to relocate the NBP to Tanay town, kaya wala munang development," said Reyes.
However, he said the plan could not yet be carried out because it required a budget between P15 and 17 billion, which the NBP cannot afford.
Teodora Diaz, assistant director of the NBP, meanwhile said usual escapees come from the minimum security facility. "Hindi namin inasahan iyong kay Leviste kasi kapag minimum security, either matatapos mo na ang sentensya mo or makakalaya ka na rin naman, so
walang dahilan bakit tatakas pa ang isang inmate na gayan."
Diaz said about 15 inmates from the minimum security tried escaping in 2010, most of them however have already been recaptured. Diaz said Leviste alone has left the NBP compound four times in the past, three of them through the main gate.
Baraan said he would propose a review of the policy in admitting prisoners into minimum security status and awarding "sleep out" and "living out" privileges to them.
Because of old age, the 71-year-old Leviste – soon after his conviction in 2009 – was awarded "sleep out" privileges, which was normally given to inmates 65 years old and above.
"Pero ang haba pa ng ise-serve ni Leviste na term. Bakit binigyan kaagad siya ng sleep-out privilege. Kaya dapat i-revisit ang policy on that," Baraan said. Leviste's conviction carried a six to 12 years of imprisonment.
In early 2010, Leviste was allowed to leave the NBP to undergo a dental check-up in Makati City.
In a GMA News report last Thursday, Bureau of Corrections director Ernesto Diokno said Leviste is on a "living out" status, which means that he is not detained at the maximum security facility but only within the NBP compound in Muntinlupa City.
Also he said that at 71, Leviste is a candidate for executive clemency because NBP inmates above 70 can apply for such.
According to the same report, if a court finds Leviste guilty of evasion of service of sentence, six more years will be added to his sentence of six to 12 years for homicide. — LBG
