5 jail officers face raps over Leviste caper

MANILA, Philippines - Administrative charges were filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday against five current and previous officers of the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) for the unauthorized trip of former Batangas governor and convicted killer Antonio Leviste out of the national penitentiary last May 18.

The five jail officers were charged with grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service that paved the way for Leviste’s caper.

Charged were former NBP chief superintendent Armando Miranda, the current superintendent Ramon Reyes, former head of the minimum security compound Dante Cruz, incumbent minimum security compound chief Roberto Rabo and Leviste's custodian, Prison Guard I Fortunato Justo.

All five were ordered suspended from duties for 90 days pending preliminary investigation of the DOJ panel composed of state counsel Amenda Leano-Garcia and prosecution lawyers Rafael Villanueva and Amelia Ponio. They were also told to formally answer the charges within five days from receipt of notice.

Reyes and Miranda were the highest officials charged over “question of supervision.”

Miranda, according to the panel, “clearly had a direct hand” in giving special treatment to Leviste. The panel cited the testimony of Agriculture Production (Agro) section head Wilson Marquez, who said that it was Miranda who instructed him to request Leviste’s transfer to the Agro section.

The DOJ said Miranda “did not cancel the “sleep out privilege that he granted to Leviste despite the reports, raw or otherwise, of the latter’s alleged escapes.”

For his part, Reyes is being held liable for failing “to exercise his duty” as he did not cause the cancellation or revocation of the privilege status granted to Leviste despite receiving reports of the inmate’s out-of-jail trips.”

Cruz, on the other hand, “had the supervisory power and control over the inmates under his responsibility, by recommending for approval that Leviste need not report to the minimum security compound for headcount.”

The panel also said Cruz violated Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) rules and regulations by “reducing the number of headcount to three times only, instead of four times as required by the rules.”

Rabo was found to be negligent when he did not act on reports that Leviste had been violating prison rules by going in and out of Bilibid.

The panel said Justo committed gross neglect of duty when he failed to monitor the former governor’s whereabouts on May 18. The panel said that had Justo fully discharged his duties, Leviste would not have walked in and out of the national penitentiary.

The panel cited that a television footage showing that Leviste had been sneaking out of NBP several times even before the former governor was caught by government agents last May 18. “These circumstances undoubtedly prove that Justo was totally remiss in the performance of his duties as Leviste’s custodian.”

DOJ Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III said criminal charge for infidelity in custody of prisoner was also filed against Justo before the Muntinlupa City prosecutor’s office in connection to the incident.

“They submitted their explanation and the secretary found the existence of probable cause to proceed with the investigation against the five,” Baraan explained De Lima’s decision.

Ernesto Diokno, who was BuCor chief when the incident took place, was not included in the charge sheet since he already resigned.

Diokno’s liability in the incident was however spelled out by the DOJ fact-finding committee in its earlier report to Malacañang.

In its 36-page report released last June 1, the fact-finding panel detailed several lapses made by Diokno in the implementation of sleep-out privilege given to Leviste. The former BuCor chief failed to act decisively despite receiving information on Leviste’s constant departures from the national penitentiary, the report said.

“He (Diokno) said that he confronted inmate Leviste about this report of him sneaking out of the prison compound. But to the panel, he should have done more than that. It is quite clear to the panel that Director Diokno did not give the report the attention, the seriousness and the urgency that it deserved,” the report said.

The second part of the DOJ report tackled recommendations for administrative reforms in BuCor and NBP. The eight-point plan aims to prevent a repeat of incidents similar to Leviste’s caper.

In the list are the installation of additional security personnel and CCTV cameras in the NBP reservation, regular trainings of prison guards and custodial personnel, strict enforcement of prison rules and regulations, construction of perimeter fences to segregate the NBP compound from housing projects inside the reservation area, better monitoring of “living-out” privileges, amendments in BuCor’s operating manual and regular reshuffle of prison guards.