As I expected, it was an interesting Tuesday. In the late afternoon the media interrupted the broadcast of the House probe into New Bilibid Prison (NBP) drugs use and trade for De Lima's emotional privilege speech. Her main points were that she refuses to sell her soul to the devil and that Senator Alan Peter Cayetano will be her bff.
I tried to listen and to read as good as possible today. As I did, a few questions came up.
After a long introduction in which we saw the documentary of Discovery Channel on the NBP and could listen to an expose of an SAF-officer, part of the group of soldiers that took over the guarding of the inmates on July 20th, 2016, the first witness was Odolfo Magleo. By the way, the fact that the SAF-troopers took over meant that there suddenly was one guard on forty inmates, while before there was one guard on four hundred inmates (40 guards per shift!). A question would be why De Lima didn't send the military in? Maybe she didn't do enough to end the 'wild west' or the 'Little Las Vegas' as Magleo described the NBP.
Although the House declared that the probe would not be into De Lima, right from the beginning DOJ-Secretary Aguirre, who has been questioning the witnesses, made clear that his target certainly is De Lima. About the first question he had for Magleo was: "When did you meet Secretary De Lima for the first time?"
Magleo is a former police-officer who's doing time for kidnapping. Now, 12 years later, he suddenly felt a call of conscience and service. He said he met De Lima for the first time mid 2011. Nobody asked him what the circumstances of that meeting were. One might hope that the DOJ-Secretary visits the biggest prison of the world from time to time. Furthermore he stated that he once was (apparently not anymore) a confidant of 'The King' of the NBP, Jaybee Sebastian, who is not among the witnesses. Jaybee allgedly owes money to Peter Co as well as to Jackson Lee. The latter was transferred to the Davao Penalty Colony, but Co apparently was not. Magleao 'heard' that Herbert Colangco would give millions to De Lima. As further hearsay he stated that Jaybee Sebastian paid De Lima 10 million after the transfer of the Bilibid 19 to the NBI-headquarters (December 2014) and 1 million every month. According to Magleo the drug trade inside NBP proliferated during the time of De Lima. So now we are supposed to know that Colangco as well as Sebastian were paying De Lima.
Then comes Herbert Colangco himself. He's also doing time for kidnapping and denies to be a drug lord, but admits to have received kickbacks for transferring inmates as well as running a prostitution ring. Inside the NBP he was fooled by 'The King' into surrendering his territory, after Sebastian allegedly asked him to help De Lima with her senatorial bid. Still he did some fundraising among the drug lords and was able to pay 3 million pesos monthly to De Lima. Her security aid, Jonel Sanchez, allegedly received that money, but Colangco supposed that it was for De Lima. Since Colangco says he's not a drug lord he apparently has been paying other people's money to Sanchez and supposedly to De Lima. Despite the fact that the SAF has been confiscating cellphones in the NBP, Herbert Colangco simply brought his own into the House, to show everybody that De Lima's number was programmed in his phone. Representative Gwen Garcia could quickly confirm that the number indeed was De Lima's cause it was in her cellphone too, although she never called it until today.
Both Magleo and Colangco clearly have a problem with 'The King' of the NBP, Jaybee Sebastian, and found and escape route in the witness protection program that Aguirre's DOJ offers them.
The most peculiar testimonies today came from NBI-agent Jovenicio Ablen and his boss NBI-deputy director Rafael Ragos. A detail, but maybe not unimportant, here is that De Lima recommended Ragos for his post much to the displeasure of NBI-Director Gatdula in 2011. Ragos was appointed by President Noynoy Aquino.So the NBI-boss has two accounts to settle. One with De Lima and one with Ragos. Everybody who is not a complete stranger in the land of government and secret services knows what could have happened and most likely has happened.
Even more interesting stuff came up when I had a closer look into the testimonies both agents gave on the double delivery of money by the NBI to De Lima's house in Paranaque. Ablen declared he drove his boss twice to De Lima's house where Ragos delivered the money while he, Ablen, stayed in the car. Ragos says that he, after finding a bag with money on his bed (Peter Co must have placed it there) and receiving a phonecall (who called him?) to deliver the money to De Lima's house took his car and picked up Ablen at his home. Sitting on the passenger seat Ablen even checked the content of the black bag at his feet. So they contradict each other on who was driving and who deliverd the money. Ablen is loyal to his longtime boss, whose trust he has earned over the years. Ragos, something hit him inside beginning September and as a consequence he suddenly felt he could no longer live with a lie, is forced to lie by his own agency, whose director didn't want him there in the first place and has to settle the account with De Lima who was responsible for his appointment. Ragos himself has absolutely no motive to give a testimony against De Lima, who now allegedly received money from Jabee Sebastian, Herbert Colangco and Peter Co.
As far as I am concerned, the nasty smell of this whole operation comes out of a building at Taft Avenue, but you are invited to make your own judgement.!
