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Friday, December 28, 2007
Palace: More heads to roll over release of Jalosjos
MANILA -- Malacañang on Thursday said more heads would roll over the unauthorized release of former Zamboanga del Norte congressman and convicted rapist Romeo Jalosjos from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa following the relief of Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Ricardo Dapat.
Presidential Legal Counsel Chief Sergio Apostol said there might be some others who will be involved, depending on the result of the investigation being conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
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He said the BuCor should have coordinated with the DOJ, which has supervision over matters like this.
Apostol said the Palace is holding Dapat responsible for Jaloslos's unhampered departure from the NBP to his hometown in Zamboanga del Norte province before Christmas.
But Dapat on Thursday defended his stance regarding the flak generated by the "escape" of Jalosjos as he denied allegations he is negligent in the performance of his duty.
Sacrificial lamb
Dapat said he might have been made a "sacrificial lamb" to deflect criticism of the issue, saying he had done everything to perform his duties.
"His (Dapat) relief comes from the Secretary of Justice after an investigation was conducted and that recommendation was acted upon by the President," said Apostol.
Dapat was sacked Wednesday and was replaced by former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Oscar Calderon, who promised that no one would escape jail under his watch.
According to Dapat, he tasked a prison security officer to make sure that Jalosjos was in his quarters at the national penitentiary on Friday night last week.
"I instructed the security officer of the day to check and make sure he (Jalosjos) was in his dormitory cell and he answered yes," said Dapat, who admitted that the former lawmaker indeed escaped from prison.
Dapat said Jalosjos called him up when he was already in Dapitan where he asked him why he escaped but the former lawmaker stressed he was already a free man.
He said in his nearly five-month stint as BuCor director, only two other inmates escaped from the compound.
Executive clemency
Apostol also denied that Malacañang had issued executive clemency on Jalosjos or made any recommendation, contrary to claims by Dapat.
"I don't know the basis of his statement," Apostol told reporters when asked to comment on Dapat's statement that the release of Jalosjos was allegedly approved by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.
Dapat, in an earlier television interview, said the BuCor had reminded the office of the Executive Secretary as early as June that Jalosjos had served his term following President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's commutation of the former lawmaker's sentence to 16 years, from two life terms over the rape of an 11-year-old girl.
However, Presidential Deputy Spokesman Anthony Golez said the Palace never ordered the release of Jalosjos.
"There was a commutation order that would make him eligible for release at age 70," said Golez. "The actions taken by the BuCor in implementing this order is now under investigation by the DOJ."
Gonzalez offer
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. informed Dapat of his relief.
Dapat said Gonzalez even offered him the chance to resign, rather than be fired, apparently as a face-saving gesture on his part but that he accepted the decision.
Critics said negligence allowed Jalosjos to walk out of the NBP in Muntinlupa last Saturday and flew to his hometown in Dapitan before he was re-arrested by a police team from the Police Regional Office (PRO) 9.
But the former prison official admitted that Jalosjos status as a "living-out inmate" might have made it easier for him to leave the NBP compound.
Inmates who enjoyed the status and those scheduled for release were typically given the privilege to roam the prison compound but were mandated to report to the prison officials at least twice a day.
Dapat likewise said the authorities particularly the DOJ should have done their computation on the amount of years spend by the former lawmaker at the national penitentiary early on so as to avoid the current issue.
He said he has no immediate plans after his relief but added it might be his last government post he will accept.
Jalosjos computation
Dapat's predecessor, Vicente Vinarao, has recommended Jalosjos computation of his jail sentence last December 16 but Gonzalez argued that his own computation based on the Revised Penal Code (RPC) only allows his release on July 2009.
Gonzalez also said Vinarao gave Jalosjos too many credits that allowed his early release, saying he used "internal rules" that allowed extra credits not authorized by the RPC.
Under the RPC, he said good behavior in the first two years of sentence will entitle a convict to five days reduction every month.
Good behavior from the third to fifth year entitles to reduction of eight days every month. Good behavior from the sixth to 10th year earns a 10-days reduction every month. Above that, the reduction is 15 days every month.
Vinarao said the current mess can be traced back to Dapat, saying the relieved BuCor head failed to keep track of the former lawmaker's movements despite Jalosjos's defiance pronouncements against the government that he will have to stay in prison until 2009. (PNA/With AH/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (December 28, 2007 issue)
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