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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Prisoner on QC drug deal 'now isolated' -- BuCor

Prisoner on QC drug deal 'now isolated' -- BuCor

Published May 25, 2021 03:58 pm

Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm

The prisoner who allegedly dictated the drug deal that led to the "misencounter" between the operatives of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) last February in Quezon City has been "placed in isolation," the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday, May 25.

DOJ Undersecretary Deo L. Marco said inmate Melvin Magallon, also known as Pawpaw, has been placed in isolation at the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (SPPF) in Occidental Mindoro where he is imprisoned.

"Naka-isolate sya sa isang cell. Mag-isa lang sya doon (He has been isolated. He is alone there)," said Marco who supervises the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) for the DOJ.

Marco made the assurance after National Bureau of Investigation-National Capital Region (NBI-NCR) Director Cesar A. Bacani said during a Senate hearing last Monday, May 24, that the bureau's investigation of the "misencounter" revealed that Magallon was the one "dictating the tempo" of the drug transaction.

The transaction had led to a gunfight between operatives of the PNP and PDEA along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City last Feb. 24 and resulted in the deaths of two policemen, a PDEA agent and a PDEA informant.

Marco said, during a meeting with Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on Tuesday, May 25, BuCor Director General Gerald Q. Bantag and Deputy Director General Gabriel P. Chaclag also gave assurances that the BuCor has taken actions concerning the inmate, including a probe on how Magallon was able to secure a mobile phone to conduct the drug transaction last February.

"Inamin niya di dapat nagkaroon ng cellphone yun (Bantag admitted that Magallon should not have gotten a mobile phone). So they are looking into it and might take certain actions," Marco said.

He said he learned from the BuCor that Magallon has been staying at the minimum security compound of the SPPF and has been allowed to roam around and work as part of the reformation process.

But he said that BuCor officials made it clear that just because an inmate is staying at the minimum security compound, "does not mean he could have access to cellphone."

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