MANILA — Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla on Tuesday said he would look into claims that someone from Bilibid might have ordered the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid or Percy Mabasa.

Self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial made this claim when he was presented to the media earlier Tuesday. He said he and 3 others were hired to kill Lapid in exchange for P550,000.

• Alleged gunman in Percy Lapid slay now in police custody

“We'll find out sino. Basta malaman natin kung sino, we will protect the witness to the fullest possible extent kasi malalim yan,” Remulla told reporters during a press conference.

(We'll find out who ordered the hit. Once we find out who, we will protect the witness to the fullest possible extent because that runs deep.)

Remulla admitted however that it was the first time he heard about the allegation and said he would confer with Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, who presented Escorial to the media.

The justice secretary added that he would ask Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director general Gerald Bantag to report on what he knew about the issue.

“Now ko lang nalaman yan. Immediately after this, I will tell him to give me a report on this if he has any knowledge already because what the gunman says and what the DG (director general) knows, we do not know if they are the same. We cannot presume that,” he said.

Remulla refused to confirm if the case could be considered closed.

“We have to know the charges that have to be filed. The conviction has to ensure and if it's going to be a plea of guilty, it has to be vetted properly. The testimony has to come out so that the there will be a basis for the police to act on this matter later on because definitely, a gunman is not the whole crime itself. It has to be vetted as a whole conspiracy probably. No gunman would be there without a conspiracy,” he said.

Lapid’s brother, veteran journalist Roy Mabasa, expressed doubt over Escorial’s claim.

The BuCor is taking steps to investigate the allegation, said its spokesperson Gabriel Chaclag.

“Once I was informed of the statement of the confessed gunman on the Percy Lapid case, we asked the NBP Superintendent to investigate ASAP this alleged connection of the gunman with an unidentified inmate and submit report within today so we could have a forthright reply to all your queries po,” he said in a statement.

“Meanwhile, rest assured that BuCor is one with you in our collective quest for truth. Our policies in the NBP are all aimed at preventing convicted criminals in further being able to inflict harm on our free society. It is wrong in all sense that a prisoner can still be able to communicate with his cohorts to perform criminal acts outside,” he added.

Chaclag maintained cellphones are not allowed inside Bilibid, "even at our offices."

“We, in BuCor will not tolerate this and we are open to any inquiry as we are serious in our job and would always endeavor to improve our systems if indeed there had been lapses,” he added.

PROBLEMS IN BILIBID

Remulla acknowledged the gravity of the problem in Bilibid, citing the case of electrical jumpers connected to 200 houses outside the medium-security prison that had to be cut off, many of which were owned by the guards.

“We have a big problem in Bilibid. That is why we have to reform our prison system and not only the transfer of maximum security, but the regionalization of prisons is now on the table,” he said.

“Ang problems sa Bilibid talaga kelangan i-uproot na natin talaga eh why? Kasi generations and generations of people, the guards of Bilibid feel an entitlement to the positions that they occupy and that the temptation there is so great that it is so hard to check on these people,” he said.

(We should uproot the problems in Bilibid.)

Remulla claimed a telephone is being sold inside Bilibid at around P300,000 to P500,000.

“That is the extent of how bad it is right now there,” he said.

He added: “I’ve been discussing this within the Department, with the DPWH for the past 3 months, the design of the prisons and financial modeling of the regionalized prisons are being discussed already and we may be able to build regional prisons without using the national budget. We have a financial model to follow.”

Remulla had said he would focus on jail decongestion as well as the maximum security prison in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro in his first 100 days in office.

• First 100 days: Remulla to focus on Sablayan prison, jail decongestion

Asked for a timetable in Tuesday's press conference, he said a few regional prisons would be ready within the next 3 to 4 years.

“We will see how it launches within the next 20 months because we are just finalizing the design of a regional prison that will be the standard throughout the country and the financial model will come into play when we speak to the LGUs about it because it will take a lot of cooperation between the DOJ and LGUs,” he said.

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