JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Sunday he was willing to meet with inmate Jaybee Sebastian, who was accused of collecting drug money for Senator Leila de Lima when she still headed the Justice department, but said the convict must tell all that he knows about the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison.
Aguirre said he was willing to meet with Sebastian, who heads the Presidio Side faction inside the maximum security compound of the NBP, even though President Rodrigo Duterte had turned down Sebastian’s request for a meeting.
“He should tell everything he knows, without selection of details. Anyway, he will be joined by his lawyer if we agree to talk,” Aguirre said Sunday.
Aguirre, who is investigating the case against De Lima and other officials from the previous administration, said Sebastian needs to come up with a complete, credible statement if he wishes to get immunity from prosecution.
“Unless Jaybee tells the entire truth, he will not be given immunity. He needs to pass the criteria of WPP [witness protection program] before a recommendation for immunity can be made,” he said.
“Jaybee could do that even without talking to the President,” Aguirre added.
The Justice secretary noted that Sebastian has already been tagged by fellow inmates as the one who raised funds for De Lima’s senatorial campaign by selling drugs.
“If he fails to get immunity, his statement might be useless and he could be charged as among the principals in the drug cases,” Aguirre said.
“That’s why we only need the entire truth from him, no less. That’s the only condition I have: if he wants to cooperate, tell the whole truth,” he said.
If Sebastian does not cooperate, he will return to the NBP after recovering from stab wounds he suffered in a riot in Building 14 at the national penitentiary last week, Aguirre said.
The Justice secretary added that he was inclined to grant Sebastian’s request to be transferred to another facility after he was stabbed last week.
“If it is necessary for his security, we will consider,” he said, adding that Sebastian’s transfer to a penal farm in the provinces is among the options.
Aguirre reiterated his belief that the incident where Sebastian and three other high-profile inmates were injured and where drug lord Tony Co was killed could be related to the ongoing probe on the NBP drug trade.
Authorities are checking on Sebastian’s claim that he was just watching TV at the mess hall when fellow inmate Tomas Domeña suddenly attacked him without provocation.
They are also checking on claims of convicted former police officer Clarence Dongail and inmate Edgar Cinco that the riot started after drug lords Tony Co, Peter Co and Vicente Sy were caught sniffing shabu inside their cell.
“Sebastian is a valuable witness as we expect him to spill the beans on Senator De Lima. So we don’t want him to die, we want him to live of course,” Aguirre said, adding that only the senator would benefit if the inmate is silenced or killed.
The stabbing incident at NBP took place after Aguirre said last week that Sebastian was set to testify in the House of Representatives inquiry on illegal drugs trade in NBP, which is set to resume this week.
Four high-profile inmates involved in the riot in Building 14 were transferred to the Philippine National Police’s headquarters on Sunday morning.
Bureau of Corrections chief Rolando Asuncion said the convoy transporting Dongail, Tomas Doniña, Edgar Cinco and Ruben Tiu left the NBP compound in Muntinlupa City at around 8:30 a.m. and arrived at the PNP national headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City and hour afterward.