People should not turn a blind eye on suspicions surrounding the death of the high-profile inmates in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), Senate President Vicente Sotto III said on Tuesday.
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
"If the PDLs (persons deprived of liberty) died because of COVID-19 or were killed for some reason, no issue to some. But what if they are missing? Shall we turn a blind eye?" Sotto wrote on Twitter.
Sotto issued the statement after some of his colleagues dismissed the need to investigate the deaths of at least nine drug convicts in the NBP after allegedly being infected with the coronavirus disease which the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) initially did not publicize and relay to higher authorities.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) later confirmed the deaths, including that of high-profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian, after BuCor Director Gerald Bantag was summoned by Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday to explain the matter. The BuCor is an agency under the DOJ.
During the meeting, Bantag reportedly informed Guevarra of "the protocol followed by the BuCor in the event of an inmate’s death from COVID-19, including the mandatory cremation of the cadaver within 12 hours to prevent the further spread of infection."
"Are the documentations complete? Pics and certificates? DNA?" Sotto said in a text message to the Manila Bulletin, when asked if he was convinced with the protocols reported by Bantag to Guevarra.
On Monday, the Senate leader filed a resolution calling for a legislative inquiry into the supposed COVID-19 related deaths in the national penitentiary. He mentioned previous statements casting doubts on the BuCor's decision to immediately send the deceased for cremation supposedly without informing authorities or their relatives.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said the BuCor should produce photos of the remains of deceased inmates to dispel doubts about their identities.
"If there is, then doubts will be laid to rest," Recto said.
"Hindi ba’t SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) na pagdating ng preso sa Bilibid ay kinukuhanan kaagad siya ng litrato para sa kanyang record (Isn't it SOP that prisoners in the Bilibid are photographed for records)? Kung mayroong picture sa first entry, siguro naman mayroon sa final exit, when an inmate leaves the prison for good, whether he walks out a free man, or is carried out horizontally," he said.
"Kung mayroong (If there is) CCTV footage of the body being brought out, the better. And why should there be none? A prison without surveillance cameras is like one without locks," he added.
Recto, however, said such photos do not have to be made public: "Simply show it to the Justice Secretary, and if he says that he had seen it, and swears that it is true, then we’ll take his word for it."
"Show them to the Justice Secretary—and the death certificates and medical records of the deceased high-profile drug lords—and all the conspiracy theories in this land, where weaving them is a national hobby, will be buried."
Guevarra has directed the NBI to conduct a full probe on the matter. The BuCor has yet to give the DOJ the death certificates of the eight other high-profile drug convicts.