The House of Representatives on Wednesday formally summoned Jaybee Sebastian and three others to a justice committee hearing on the alleged proliferation of illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison.
Committee chair Rep. Reynaldo Umali of Oriental Mindoro confirmed to reporters that he had "just signed documents" for the subpoenasof the following individuals:
*Sebastian, a Bilibid inmate being accused by his fellow prisoners of raising money for the senatorial candidacy of Sen. Leila de Lima;
*Ronnie Dayan, former driver and security aide of De Lima;
*former Bureau of Corrections director Franklin Jesus Bucayu; and
*former Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) executive director Reginald Villasanta.
"Nakagawa na kami ng invitation at nakapagbigay na kami ng notice," Umali said.
Umali admitted a subpoena for Sebastian was actually no longer necessary since government authorties can bring him to the inquiry anytime.
"His civil rights are suspended. He is under the custody of the NBI, the Bureau of Corrections and the Department of Justice so when we directed the DOJ to do that, they have every means to bring them to the hearing," said the lawmaker.
A subpoena is not even necessary (for Sebastian) but if the secretary (of Justice) would insist on a subpoena (then we will issue it). But the position of this committee is it is not necessary," said Umali.
Umali, however, reminded the public that Sebastian should not be the only focus of the Hose inquiry.
Sebastian is not the be-all-end-all of this inquiry especially since we invited other resource persons," said Umali.
Sebastian was earlier rushed to the hospital after being stabbed inside Building 14 of the NBP, where high-profile inmates are being detained.
Chinese drug convict Tony Co died in the stabbing incident, while two other Chinese convicts Peter Co and Vicente Sy were wounded. Authorities said Sebastian was already in stable condition.
Umali had already said the House inquiry would push through even without Sebastian, but stressed that the convict must still attend the hearings if his condition is "not debilitating."
The justice committee is set to conduct three more rounds of hearings on October 5, 6, and 7 to probe he illegal drug trade inside the NBP.
source:gmanews
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