A CONVICTED Chinese drug lord was killed, while several other high-profile prisoners were wounded in a riot on Wednesday morning at the maximum-security Building 14 of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II identified the fatality as Tony Co.
Aguirre said Co succumbed to stab wounds at the Medical Center of Muntinlupa City.
Injured were Jaybee Sebastian, Peter Co and Vicente Sy.
The three were taken to the Muntinlupa Medical Center for treatment, where he said Co was in serious condition, while Sebastian was in stable condition.
Sebastian’s testimony is being sought by the House Committee on Justice, which is conducting a probe on how illegal drugs proliferated inside the NBP.
The inmate is being accused of controlling drug operation inside the NBP to raise campaign funds for then-justice secretary and now Sen. Leila M. de Lima.
Aguirre said the riot happened when the Chinese inmates were reprimanded by fellow inmate Clarence Dongail, a former police chief inspector, after they were caught sniffing methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, inside their cell.
“Nakita sila ng isang inmate at sinaway sila at isinumbong kay Major Dongail na dating pulis ito at sinabihan nya na huwag mag-shabu dahil lahat sila maaapektuhan,” Aguirre said, adding that the three apparently felt bad about what Dongail had said.
“Tapos pumunta na si Dongail sa kuwarto ni Jaybee, at hindi natagalan pumasok naman si Tony Co at bigla nyang sinugod ng saksak si Dongail at doon na nagkaroon ng riot,” he added.
Aguirre denied that the riot was staged as part of the government’s bid to neutralize illegal-drug operators in the country.
He said the government wants Sebastian alive, because he can provide vital information on de Lima’s alleged links to the illegal-drug operations inside the NBP.
The four inmates were among the 19 high-profile detainees transferred to the temporary custody of the National Bureau of Investigation after a raid, led by de Lima, in December 2014 to stop illegal activities inside the national penitentiary.
They were later brought back to the NBP and detained at Building 14, along with 50 other high-risk inmates several months after.
Sebastian and Co were recently implicated in the intensified anti-illegal drug campaign of President Duterte.
Sebastian was allegedly the favored inmate who is in cahoots with de Lima, while Co was also mentioned by President Duterte as one of the drug lords who continued to direct illegal-drug operations from behind bars.
The President said Co is a drug- triad gang member operating in Luzon and Metro Manila.
He was also tagged by Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. of Albuera, Leyte, as the source of illegal drugs of his son, Kerwin Espinosa Jr., even when he was inside the NBP.
Aguirre earlier replaced prison guards with National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) troopers to secure the NBP’s maximum-security compound as part of the government’s war against illegal drugs.
Aguirre also said he had already ordered a thorough investigation on the incident, as well as on how the inmates still managed to get their hands on illegal drugs despite the tight security imposed by the authorities.
“Iyan din ang katanungan ko, iyan nga sinasabi namin na 90-percent napigilan namin. May nakapasok ba or mga itinago nila iyon, but the fact is nagsa-shabu sila ngayong umaga,” the official said.
Aguirre said he has also ordered a further tightening of security measures inside the NBP, particularly at the maximum-security compound, and that additional measures might also be put in place.
On Tuesday authorities installed two South Korean-made signal jammers at the maximum-security compound.
“Hihigpitan pa namin at may kailangan sigurong ihiwalay na mga inmates, pero mag-uusap pa ang Bureau of Corrections at PNP-SAF,” he added.
Some groups out to stop Sebastian from testifying
THE leader of the House of Representatives on Wednesday said there are forces trying to stop Sebastian from attending the House Committee on Justice investigation on the alleged proliferation of illegal drugs at the country’s prime prison facility.
Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez made a statement following the NBP riot on Wednesday morning.
“Well, that is sad, because, apparently, there are forces preventing Jaybee Sebastian from testifying in the lower chamber’s probe. We’ll look into the motive of the people behind this,” Alvarez said.
Several inmates who testified in the House investigation tagged Sebastian as the alleged point man of de Lima in raising funds for her senatorial bid in the 2016 elections through the illegal-drugs trade.
Alvarez said the stabbing does not appear to be a regular case of violence among inmates inside the prisons, saying in the past few years there were no reports of riot in the NBP involving high-profile inmates.
However, Alvarez admitted that he has no evidence to back his suspicion.
Earlier, Aguirre said Sebastian may testify before the House committee, but later said there is no need for it, following reports the inmate wants to limit his testimony only to alleged anomalies in the food supply in NBP.
Moreover, Alvarez said the lack of testimony from Sebastian will not hamper the House Committee on Justice investigation as there are many other witnesses it may summon to establish the facts regarding the illegal-drugs trade inside the NBP.
What is important, according to Alvarez, is to establish the truth behind the illegal-drugs trade inside the NBP to guide the House Committee on Justice on crafting a proposed law to address the problem.
For his part, Party-list Rep. Harry Roque of Kabayan asked the National Bureau of Investigation and the National Police to investigate the riot.
Meanwhile, PDP-Laban Rep. Reynaldo Umali of Oriental Mindoro, Committee on Justice chairman, said the lower chamber’s investigation on the alleged proliferation of illegal drugs in NBP will be held from October 5 to 7.
With Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz