Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday refuted the statement of Philippine National Police (PNP) deputy chief for operations Director Benjamin Magalong that the police was left out of a major raid on the New Bilibid Prison in 2014.
De Lima, in a media briefing, said the Department of Justice (DOJ), together with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCoR), was already discussing the situation inside the New Bilbid Prision (NBP), even before Magalong proposed a drug raid.
“We were already starting all of these, we were already discussing the situation in Bilbid. And when we say we, kami sa DOJ, with respect to the situation of inmates, it’s BuCor, and NBI because of investigative aspect of things,” De Lima, the DOJ secretary, said.
De Lima said the impression that the PNP was left out of the raid was “not accurate” because “select units” of the national police and the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), as well as the Special Action Force (SAF), were involved in the raid.
“It’s not true that the PNP was out of the operations simply because the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) under General Magalong then then ay finally hindi kasama,” De Lima said.
On the second day of the House inquiry on the alleged illegal drugs inside the NBP, Magalong said his team conceptualized a plan dubbed as “Oplan Cronus” for the massive raid in the NBP maximum security compound.
Magalong was then head of the CIDG.
He said he first discussed with De Lima the drug trade situation in the NBP sometime in May 2014.
In the end, however, they were left out of the raid held in December, which led to the transfer of 19 high-profile inmates dubbed as the “Bilibid 19” from the NBP to the NBI facility in Manila.
NBP inmates Rodolfo Magleo and Herbert Colanggo had testified that the transfer of the “Bilibid 19” was orchestrated by gang leader Jaybee Sebastian allegedly to monopolize the drug trade in NBP.
Magleo claimed that Sebastian paid De Lima P10 million for the transfer of the "Bilibid 19" inmates.
Magalong also alleged that BuCor director Franklin Bucayu was against the drug raidand had told him to bring up the matter to De Lima.
De Lima said this was impossible as Bucayu can go directly to De Lima in his capacity as BuCor chief.
“I doubt that...He knows he can meet me, he can talk to me anytime and we did talk many times because he was BuCor director,” the senator said.
De Lima said Bucayu, and Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) executive director General Reginald Villasanta "had some issues with General Magalong, personality-related issues."
According to Magalong, it was Villasanta who accompanied Bucayu to his office in the CIDG, asking him not to push through with the raid.
Magalong told GMA News there was no problem between him and Bucayu.
"I understand what she is going through right now. But, there is no personality issue between me and General Bucayu. Kaya nga nakalapit siya sa akin nuon asking me na huwag na ituloy ang raid sa Bilibid," Magalong said.
"He asked me na i-set siya ng meeting kay secretary and sabi ko bakit di nalang siya nakakadirecho naman siya," he added.
Magalong said he and Bucayu were friends. He said he also had a high respect for De Lima.
"Mataas ang pagtingin ko kay Sen de Lima. I respect the senator because we have worked together at maayos ang pakikitungo niya sa akin," Magalong said.
Magalong reiterated that the proposal, major planning, major concept and recommendation NBP operation came from CIDG. —NB, GMA News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
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