De Lima questions Leviste parole

MANILA, Philippines - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday questioned the decision of the Board of Pardons and Parole to grant former Batangas governor and convict Antonio Leviste freedom.

She told reporters that she asked BPP officials if they followed the proper procedure in recommending parole for Leviste and if the convict complied with all the requirements in applying for parole.

“They told me, yes they did all that and Mr. Leviste complied with all the requirements,” De Lima said. “But after review, I found out that they glossed over one incident, which is a ground for disqualification for parole, and that is Mr. Leviste once went out of prison without an approved pass.”

A fact-finding inquiry into Leviste’s reported “escape” arrived at an “explicit finding na lumabas siya (that he went out of prison) without the proper pass,” she added.

De Lima also said that the parole board felt it was bound by the decision of a Makati court clearing Leviste of the charge of trying to evade his sentence for killing a former assistant.

But she pointed out that the alleged evasion of sentence by the convict was an “open question, a contentious issue” that the board should have considered in recommending parole for Leviste.

In any case, De Lima said she was taking responsibility for the board’s grant of parole to the former governor “since it was cleared with me.”

She also said she was scheduled to submit a report to President Aquino yesterday afternoon, and it would be up to the President to sustain the parole board’s decision or reverse it.

She refused to reveal what her recommendation was, saying she did not want to preempt Aquino.

Earlier, Aquino expressed surprise over Leviste’s parole, saying it looked like the former governor was given special treatment.