Former president Rodrigo Duterte (Keith Bacongco/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Another inmate has linked former president Rodrigo Duterte to a shocking case of alleged extrajudicial killing (EJK) behind bars during his term in August 2016.

During the House quad-committe (quad-comm) hearing on Wednesday, Aug. 28, former policeman Jimmy Fortaleza corroborated the testimonies of two fellow prisoners who earlier linked Duterte to the killing of three Chinese drug lords inside the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF).

In last week’s hearing, inmates Leopoldo Tan Jr. and Fernando Magdadaro told the quad-comm that they were asked to kill drug lords Chu Kin Tung, alias Tony Lim; Li Lan Yan, alias Jackson Li; and Wong Meng Pin, alias Wang Ming Ping. This is supposedly under the orders from Duterte.

Fortaleza, who was serving time at the DPPF, described the circumstances surrounding the killing in an affidavit.

“Noong hapon ng Agosto 13, 2016, nabalitaan ko nagka “searching” sa foreigner’s quarters at matapos ‘nun ay nilipat ang mga Chinese drug lords mula sa Foreigner’s quarters papunta sa bartolina,” said Fortaleza.

(On the afternoon of Aug. 13, 2016, I heard that there was a "searching" in the foreigner's quarters and after that, the Chinese drug lords were transferred from the foreigner's quarters to the solitary confinement.)

“Noong gabing iyon, nagkaroon ng sigawan sa mga bartolina kung saan nilipat ang mga Chinese drug lords. Sinubukan kong silipin kung ano ang nangyayari subalit may takip na tabing sa bartolina,” he added.

(That night, there was a lot of screeaming in the isolation cell where the Chinese drug lords were transferred. I tried to see what was going on but the cell was already covered with a curtain.)

Fortaleza said the first to respond to the incident was Nonie Foro, commander of the prison guards. After this, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Superintendent Gerardo Padilla was reportedly called to the area.

“Matapos nito ay nilabas ang mga suspek na si Tan at Magdadaro mula sa bartolina kung saan ay nakaposas na sila,” he narrated.

(After this, suspects Tan and Magdadaro were released from the isolation cell, they were already handcuffed when I saw them.)

Last Thursday, Tan bared that after they haa killed the drug lords, Padilla instructed them to surrender of the weapons used in the crime.

Tan recalled that Padilla allegedly received a phone call from former president Duterte, who reportedly congratulated the former on a job well done.

But Padilla asserted that he did not receive such a call from the former leader of the country.

Lawmakers would then question the BuCor chief for supposedly ordering the transfer of the Chinese inmates to the same cell where Tan and Magdadaro were held.

Despite persistent questioning, Padilla would not admit his role in the transfer of inmates. Instead, he pointed to another official in the DPPF, namely Forro, who he claimed was the one who gave the order.

When pressed by congressmen, Forro explained that he was only third in line when it comes to approving the movement of prisoners. He insisted that there was actually advice from Padilla to transfer the drug lords.

Padilla cited for contempt  

After Padilla continued to evade queries, Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano moved to cite the former jail official in contempt.

Paduano explained that the former BuCor executive violated section 11, paragraph c of the rules of House of Representatives, specifically for “refusal to answer questions without legal excuse”.

Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop later moved to detain Padilla for 30 days. Acop, in a separate motion, asked that Padilla  be detained in the Bicutan City Jail “simply because our detention center [in the House] is presently full”.