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Manila Bulletin devider devider Magalong to appear before Senate hearing on GCTA controversy

Magalong to appear before Senate hearing on GCTA controversy

Published Sep 14, 2019 02:13 pm
By Jan Carlo Anolin Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, former chief of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG), is set to testify next week in the Senate hearing on the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law. Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong (Photo from Benjie Magalong - Public Servant / Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong (Photo from Benjie Magalong - Public Servant / Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) Magalong confirmed his attendance in an interview with radio DZMM Saturday, and disclosed that he received a call from Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. Gordon tapped Magalong to take part in the hearing and share all the information he was able to gather about illegal activities in the New Bilibid Prison when was still CIDG chief. “Nagtaka nga ako kasi wala naman akong kinalaman doon sa GCTA at sabi naman sa akin ni Senator ay tungkol daw sa nangyari sa BuCor (Bureau of Corrections) noong ako pa'y CIDG chief. Gusto niya uling mabigay ako ng linaw tungkol sa nangyari,” Magalong said. Magalong said Gordon probably wanted to “look at the bigger picture” on what was really happening within the BuCor. When Sen. Leila de Lima was still justice secretary in 2014, Magalong said he reported to the detained senator how high-profile Chinese drug personalities were able to remotely control and manage the drug trade in the country despite being imprisoned. Magalong formed a special operations intelligence plan, together with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and presented it to de Lima. However, he said they did not take part in the raid conducted in 2014 because they were excluded. The information he received showed that BuCor officials were involved in the anomalies at the New Bilibid Prison. “Lumabas lahat ‘yun sa lahat ng information and sana makakakuha kami ng mga ebidensya ‘pag nakasama sana kami sa raid ay may makukuha kaming mga matitibay na ebidensya. Unfortunately ‘di na kami sinaman despite the fact na kami namain yung nagtrabaho,” Magalong said. Magalong said he was still waiting for a notice from Gordon’s office for the exact day of his appearance.
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