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BY PRINCE GOLEZ, Manila Reporter and ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – A high-profile inmate was killed while three others were hurt in a stabbing incident at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City yesterday.
Department of Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre identified the fatality as Tony Co and those injured as Jaybee Sebastian, Vincent Sy and Peter Co.
According to Aguirre, it was around 7:30 a.m. when inmate Edgar Cinco saw Tony Co, Peter Co and Sy having a “pot session” in Building 14.
Cinco alerted fellow inmate Clarence Dongail, who confronted the three and told them to stop.
Tony Co then went to Sebastian’s cell to report the incident, causing the latter to attack Dongail with a knife, Aguirre told a news conference.
Aguirre said the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) is now investigating how the Chinese drug lords were able to sneak the shabu inside the penitentiary.
The stabbing and the “pot session” happened even with the Philippine National Police’s Special Action Force (SAF) operatives as prison guards.
Tony Co died of multiple stab wounds. Peter Co, on the other hand, was in critical condition as of this writing.
Sen. Leila de Lima blamed Malacañang for the violence at the Bilibid. “This is Malacañang’s way of sending its messages to prisoners who refuse to implicate me in the Bilibid drug trade,” said the senator.
De Lima also doubted a “riot” happened at the penitentiary, as what administration officials were claiming. “Nandiyan ang mga SAF, tapos gagawan ng istorya na ganyan. Nagsha-shabu tapos nagra-riot?”
The Duterte administration was accusing de Lima of receiving drug money from high-profile Bilibid prisoners.
A BuCor official said the incident may have involved two factions in Building 14: the Batang City Jail led by Dongail and the Commando gang led by Sebastian.
BuCor acting chief Rolando Asuncion fears the Bilibid security might not be able to handle a
possible bigger riot in the building reserved for high-profile convicts and currently housing around 15,000 inmates.
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said those who want to stop Sebastian’s possible appearance in the House inquiry on the alleged drug proliferation in the penitentiary may have been behind the incident.
Alvarez believes some “forces” want to silence Sebastian.
“Tingnan natin iyong motibo kung sino ang ayaw na malaman ang katotohanan,” he said without elaborating.
Earlier Aguirre said Sebastian agreed to testify in the House probe but only on anomalies surrounding the food supply in the Bilibid./PN
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