MANILA – Investigators have not found any signs of irregularity on the deaths of convicted rapist-murderer Antonio Sanchez and other high-profile persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Tuesday "(t)he National Bureau of Investigation has not found any evidence so far that any foul play was involved in the deaths of certain high-profile PDLs, including former Mayor Sanchez of Calauan”.
Sanchez, 71, was found unconscious inside his cell at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City last month.
He was declared dead on arrival at the NBP Hospital. He reportedly had pre-existing conditions, such as asthma, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, prostate problems, and gastroenteritis.
In July last year, another prominent NBP inmate, 40-year old Jaybee Sebastian who was convicted for kidnap-for-ransom and carjacking, died from complications arising from Covid-19.
Sebastian was a key figure in the government efforts to prosecute Senator Leila De Lima, who is accused of receiving bribes from prisoners in exchange for allowing drug trades behind bars while she was still DOJ secretary.
The Bureau of Corrections reported then that from March to July 2020, Sebastian and eight others convicted of drug offenses were among the 21 prisoners who died of Covid-19, 15 of them at NBP.
Convicted car theft Raymond Dominguez likewise died inside his NBP cell in February, apparently from natural causes. He survived Covid-19 last year.
Sanchez was serving seven counts of reclusion perpetua for the abduction, rape, and killing of University of the Philippines Los Baños students Mary Eileen Sarmenta and Allan Gomez in 1993. The crimes were committed at his farm in Barangay Curba.
The Supreme Court (SC), in 1999, affirmed his conviction first handed by Pasig Judge Harriet Demetriou four years earlier.
Also in 1999, the SC upheld Sanchez’s sentence for the death of father and son Nelson and Rickson Peñalosa, supporters of his political rival. The slay happened before the Sarmenta-Gomez case.
In 2019, Sanchez was almost released under the Good Conduct Time Allowance law but was disqualified as heinous crime offenders are not qualified. (PNA)
