House probe on Bilibid illegal drug trade. NI脩O JESUS ORBETA/Philippine Daily Inquirer
A lawmaker questioned the delay in the release of the results of the investigation the Philippine National Police鈥檚 Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) is conducting on the deadly riot inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) that killed a convicted Chinese drug lord and injured four other inmates last Sept. 28.听
READ: NBP riot: Drug lord killed; 4 wounded
Ako Bicol partylist Rep. Alfredo Garbin noted the delay when he was interpellating Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer-in-charge Rolando Asuncion during the House committee on justice鈥檚 inquiry on the illegal drug trade inside the national penitentiary听on Thursday.听
The CIDG, headed by Chief Supt. Roel Obusan, has been tapped to lead the probe of the incident.
鈥淚 believe that last week the CIDG promised that they will come up with the report one week after the incident. One week na wala pa ring report (It has been a week, yet there is no report)?鈥� Why is it taking so long? Four persons lang involved dito. 鈥榊ung isa namatay. Bakit gano鈥檔 katagal (Only four persons were involved? One died. Why is it taking so long)?鈥� Garbin asked in his interpellation of Asuncion.听
Asuncion said investigators from CIDG told him听on Wednesday听that the probe is already 80 percent complete.听
He added that the CIDG was still in the process of studying the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footages inside the maximum security compound.听
鈥淭hey requested yesterday for an additional frame of the CCTV footages and we gave it to the investigators and I think they鈥檙e still getting statements of other witnesses,鈥� Asuncion explained.听
Garbin then asked Asuncion that the investigation results on the riot be presented to them by听Monday.听
鈥淚鈥檒l try to coordinate with the CIDG but it鈥檚 not under me, it鈥檚 under the PNP,鈥� Asuncion said.听
The CIDG is looking into different versions of the incident from the inmates who survived the violent scuffle.听
READ: Bilibid riot probers careful as they get different versions
Inmate Clarence Dongail, a former police chief inspector, claimed that he was attacked by another inmate Tony Co after he tried to stop Co and other Chinese convicts from having a pot session inside their cell.听
Dongail said the attack happened while he was in the prison area of Jaybee Sebastian, a convicted kidnapper. Both of them were wounded in the scuffle, along with inmates Peter Co and Vicente Sy who were supposedly with Tony Co鈥檚 group. Tony Co was declared dead on arrival at Muntinlupa Medical Center.
But Sebastian and Sy gave different versions of the incident and claimed that Tony Co was not using 鈥渟habu鈥� (methamphetamine hydrochloride) before the riot happened.听
Sebastian said he was watching the news inside the mess hall when another inmate, Tomas Dome帽a, attacked him with a bladed weapon.
Prison guard Dennis Alfonso supported Sebastian鈥檚 version. He also said they did not recover any illegal drugs or paraphernalia in the scene.听