MANILA – A party-list lawmaker on Tuesday called for full transparency on the cases involving the Covid-19-related deaths of high-profile inmates at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Niña Taduran said a congressional inquiry should also be conducted to investigate the deaths and if protocols were followed in relation to this.
“All avenues must be explored in the interest of transparency. It is alarming that high-profile inmates have been dying allegedly due to Covid-19 since May and we have been kept in the dark until a newspaper reported Jaybee Sebastian’s death and cremation,” said Taduran.
On Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed that nine high-profile inmates from the NBP died of Covid-19.
One of the fatalities was Sebastian, a convicted kidnapper and car thief who served as a witness and co-accused in one of the drug charges against detained Senator Leila de Lima before the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court.
The eight other inmates who died of Covid-19 are Benjamin Marcelo, Jimmy Yang, Zhang Zhu Li, Jimmy Kinsing Hung, Eugene Chua, Ryan Ong, and Amin Imam Boratong, reports said.
Taduran said the Data Privacy Act should not be used as an excuse for not revealing relevant details about the high-profile inmates who died of the virus.
Bureau of Corrections Director General Gerald Bantag earlier refused to reveal the identities of high-profile inmates who died of Covid-19, stressing that the Data Privacy law prevents him from naming them in public.
Republic Act 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 protects persons from unauthorized processing of their personal information.
“It is a matter of national interest that’s why we are calling for transparency. The concerned agencies must present fool-proof evidence regarding the death of a high profile inmate and others,” Taduran said.
“Kahit para na lang sa kapakanan ng pamilya ng mga bilanggong ito, hindi ba dapat ipinapaalam sa kanila ang kalagayan ng kalusugan ng kanilang kapamilyang nakabilanggo para nasusubaybayan din nila ang nangyayari rito? Bakit ang asawa ni Jaybee Sebastian, gulat na gulat sa pangyayari? (Even just for the sake of the families of these inmates, shouldn’t they be informed of the health status of these inmates so that they would be updated? Why was the wife of Jaybee Sebastian so shocked about the turn of events?),” she added.
She noted that in such cases, witnesses should be called to be present at the cremation including a relative of the victim, stressing that there should be a protocol to prove the death of an inmate.
She also called for an efficient process of rechecking information with regard to the Covid-19 related deaths in NBP. (PNA)
