Malacañang said yesterday there is no irregularity in President Duterte’s order to transfer 10 high-profile inmates who testified against Sen. Leila de Lima on her alleged involvement in the illegal drugs trade from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City to the Marine barracks in Taguig City.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said there is nothing wrong with Duterte’s order as claimed by the incarcerated lawmaker, stressing that the inmates, who include Peter Co, Hans Anton Tan, Jojo Baligad, Vicente Sy, Froilan Trestiza, Nonilo Arile, and Joel Capones, are not receiving any special treatment and continue to be under the Bureau of Corrections.
“There is nothing insane, as described by Sen. Leila de Lima, nor is it irregular, and neither unusual in ordering high-profile convicts who are witnesses in the case against the aforesaid senator to be transferred in a Marine facility in Fort Bonifacio. Neither is the transfer an indication of a reward, as some senators unfairly and amusingly suggested,” he said.
“Some quarters may wish to obfuscate or misconstrue the President’s action. But let us be clear: The high-profile convicts remain in a detention facility under the control of the Bureau of Corrections without any VIP treatment. In other words, no special or unusual considerations are granted to them,” he added.
The Palace official stressed that security was the primary consideration for the said transfer. He also said that they firmly believed the move was legally valid as their lives are under threat because of their testimonies.
“This move of PRRD is akin to the Witness Protection Program where the witnesses are given security for their safety. Sen. de Lima has been charged with various counts of violating the Dangerous Drugs Act, precisely for being a drug coddler and receiving money from the drug lord inmates,” Panelo said. “There is a cardinal rule in prison: The aorta of silence – any whistleblower is liquidated. Their lives are endangered that is why they were transferred,” he added.
Panelo raised the possibility that De Lima, having served as Justice Secretary for almost six years under the previous administration, has accumulated sympathizers or henchmen during her tenure who may derail the unmasking of the truth about the illegal drugs trade at NBP. (Argyll Geducos)
