DOJ refuses to probe 2 senators over alleged involvement in Bilibid riot

JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said the Department of Justice (DOJ) will not look into the alleged involvement of Senators Leila de Lima and Antonio Trillanes IV on the stabbing incident in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) that involved eight inmates, including De Lima's alleged bagman Jaybee Sebastian.

In a news conference Wednesday, Aguirre said he will let the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) to probe the "simple" stabbing incident in the NBP building 14 that happened last September 28.

"Hindi na kinakailangan [mag-investigate] dahil this is just a simple stabbing incident," Aguirre said.

"There is a unit na nag-iinvestigate na nito...On the side siguro, yung investigation namin concerns only the safety of Sebastian," he added.

In the affidavit of Tomas Doniña, the inmate who stabbed Sebastian, he said that the mastermind of the plot to kill Sebastian were De Lima and Trillanes.

According to Doniña, his former colleagues at the Philippine Navy asked him to kill Sebastian as ordered by the two senators, in a bid to stop him from testifying in the congressional probe on drug proliferation. The Philippine Navy officials allegedly promised him his freedom.

Sebastian has been transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on December 28 following threats to his life inside the NBP, even after he testified before the House of Representatives on October 10.

Sebastian was hospitalized after obtaining injuries in the September 28 riot.

'Liberal party'

Aguirre added that he will not look into the possibility that the plot to kill Sebastian was ordered by the Liberal Party (LP), the party of Vice President Leni Robredo.

The political party was mentioned by Doniña in his five-page affidavit submitted to the CIDG.

Although LP was mentioned, Aguirre said this is not the reason why he disclosed to the media the affidavit of Doniña and the alleged involvement of the senators.

Aguirre said he revealed the contents of the affidavit to prove the veracity of the threats to Sebastian's life that led to his transfer.

"Minention na malakas ang LP. Alam naman natin na yan ang party ni De Lima at yan din ang sinusuportahan ni Trillanes. Sinabi niya (Trillanes) na gawa-gawa ko lamang ito upang palutangin na sila ang may kasalanan. Hindi, ginawa ko ito dahil tinatanong ako dun sa veracity of the threat on Sebastian's life," he said.

"Talagang may threat sa kanya, muntik na nga siya mapatay," the Justice Secretary added.

The riot in the NBP's building 14 involving high-valued inmates led to the death of Chinese drug lord Tony Co. (Sunnex)

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