DOJ chief: Sebastian need not testify in House hearing

MANILA, Philippines - High-profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian, the alleged collector of drug money of Sen. Leila de Lima in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), no longer needs to testify in the House of Representatives’ inquiry on the proliferation of illegal drugs in the national penitentiary.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II announced this yesterday after Sebastian refused to tell all on his alleged role in the drug trade in NBP, where he is supposedly the “most powerful, most feared” leader.

“I was told that Jaybee only wants to limit his testimony to anomaly in food supply there (in NBP). I rejected it because he will not speak the entire truth,” he said in a press conference.

“There is no need for him to testify because the testimonies of the other inmates were already clear. I don’t see any reason for Jaybee to still appear there if he will not tell the truth,” Aguirre explained.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) chief also explained that the House committee on justice does not have to issue a subpoena on Sebastian because, as an inmate, his political rights are suspended.

Aguirre, however, clarified that Sebastian could still decide to voluntarily appear in the House inquiry, but stressed that the leader of the Presidio side at the maximum security compound in NBP might not enjoy the same immunity like the other inmates.

“There is a process in the WPP (witness protection program) before a witness could be granted immunity. There should first be a statement or affidavit before you could be admitted to the WPP, and then the DOJ will assess if you are eligible for immunity,” he explained.

Aguirre said the DOJ instead would present several other witnesses who could corroborate the earlier testimonies of the inmates led by robbery and carjacking convict Herbert Colanggo.

He said De Lima’s former close-in security aide Joenel Sanchez, who was mentioned in previous testimonies, could be among the next witnesses.

“He (Sanchez) is with the PSG (Presidential Security Group). He might appear,” Aguirre bared.

The DOJ chief also hinted that former Bureau of Corrections director Franklin Bucayu, who was also implicated in the controversy, has sent feelers to the DOJ and might cooperate with the probe.

Money trail clearer

In a related development, the money trail of the illegal drug trade in the NBP is becoming clearer with the authentication of several bank accounts gathered by the DOJ.

“We already got the real deposit slips. I will be asking the AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council) again (for authentication of the bank accounts),” Aguirre bared.

The DOJ chief admitted that they were initially skeptical about the cash deposit slips, especially amid information that some quarters were out to sabotage the probe by feeding wrong information.

“It turns out there are authentic bank accounts from those deposit slips. Only that there are one or two wrong figures and some amounts were inaccurate,” he said after receiving the first report from AMLC last week.

“There are entirely accurate account numbers,” Aguirre added.

He also confirmed that they were able to trace a corporate account where the alleged drug money was deposited. – With Delon Porcalla