Daily Tribune‘If those who steal P100 from malls and shoplift lotion can be locked up here, those who steal billions, in my opinion, should be detained here, too,’ said the DILG chief.
Photo courtesy of DILG / FB
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Monday showcased the detention facility at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas, saying it is ready to house officials expected to be indicted in the ongoing flood control corruption scandal.
Remulla disclosed after a facility tour that the DILG is anticipating that as many as 200 individuals will face indictment over the anomalous projects within the next three weeks.
“We assumed that the first round of indictment will come in three weeks,” Remulla said, stressing that the DILG is simply preparing a viable facility for those whom the court may commit to imprisonment.
The New Quezon City Jail, which can accommodate up to 800 detainees, is being proposed as the primary detention site because of its proximity and convenience to the Sandiganbayan, which would likely handle the cases.
“The court has the jurisdiction where the accused can be detained. We will not say where they will be detained,” Remulla said. “But according to the law, if the venue is in the Sandiganbayan, this is the nearest Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facility.”
He stressed that the facility should house high-profile offenders if minor offenders are detained there.
“If those who steal P100 from malls and shoplift lotion can be locked up here, those who steal billions, in my opinion, should be detained here, too,” said the DILG chief.
Remulla showed reporters a standard cell, which can house 10 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) and includes one bathroom. The facility also has an area for exercise and cubicles for conferring with lawyers.
He said strict jail rules will be enforced, including a ban on communication gadgets, though PDLs will be allowed to use landline phones. Relatives will be allowed visitation privileges five times a week, with no visitation on Mondays and Fridays.
The issue of ghost and substandard flood control projects gained national attention in August after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that 20 percent of the government’s flood control projects had been awarded to only 15 contractors.
Investigations by Congress and the newly formed Independent Commission for Infrastructure have since linked contractors, government officials and lawmakers to the widespread corruption controversy.
