Justice office: Rolito Go should undergo polygraph test

THE Department of Justice (DOJ) said convicted murderer Rolito Go, his sister Julie and nephew Clemence Yu should undergo a lie detector test to further verify their story of the convict being kidnapped right within the New Bilibid Prisons' premises last August 14.

De Lima said that while initial investigations indicate that there are evidence supporting Go's claims, she has yet to be convinced that the culprits were after the ransom money.

"The evidence, so far, would tend to show that claims of forcible taking were bona fide. But the question is: What was the purpose of the abduction?” she told reporters following a closed-door meeting with NBI Director Nonnatus Cesar Rojas.

She said a lie detector test would confirm the plausibility or credibility of Go's story.

However, De Lima said that the National Bureau of Investigation is still verifying the reported payment of P40,000 ransom. She explained that the abductors originally asked for P100-million, which was then reduced to P50 million.

The Go family then made a counter offer of P1 million, but the negotiations did not push through, she said.

"If true (P40,000 ransom), I don't think we can consider that as ransom because the alleged original demand was P100 million, reduced to P50 million. The counter-offer was P1 million, but it was not given," she said, noting that Go and his nephew were released immediately after they were forced to withdraw P40,000 from an ATM.

"That's all they got, so it was doubtful that ransom was really their purpose," she added.

De Lima said she has instructed the NBI to still pursue all angles, although she admitted that a "kidnap me" scenario or connivance of Go with the abductors could be a remote possibility.

Rojas, for his part, said: "Evidence would tend to show that there was indeed abduction. The statements made by the victims were verified – the roads they took were traced and other details he revealed, like the description of the place, actually matched with what our people found in the field."

Earlier, De Lima confirmed reports of cases of kidnapping and robbery extortion activities within the national penitentiary where suspects would initially demand millions but would later agree to lower the amount to P100,000 or P50,000.

She said there is a need to conduct further probe because findings of the NBI were not yet conclusive. The probe would also determine who among NBP officials and personnel should be held liable for Go’s disappearance.

A joint case conference will be called next week among the NBI, the Philippine National Police and the Anti-Kidnapping Group to consolidate the result of their parallel investigations on the matter. (JCV/Sunnex)