MANILA, Philippines – Kidnapping convict Jaybee Sebastian is not covered by the witness protection program, the Department of Justice (DOJ) clarified yesterday.
Contrary to reports quoting Sebastian’s lawyer Eduardo Arriba, DOJ Undersecretary Erickson Balmes said the self-confessed drug lord who recently testified against Sen. Leila de Lima in the House of Representatives’ inquiry on illegal drug operations in the New Bilibid Prison had not been admitted to the WPP.
Arriba said his client “has returned to Bilibid but he is now under WPP” and “protection extends to members of his family.”
In an earlier press conference, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Sebastian might not qualify for the WPP and immunity from suit following his “half-truth” testimony in the House.
“Many of his statements were not true,” Aguirre said.
Aguirre cited for instance the denial of Sebastian that he knew De Lima’s former driver and alleged ex-lover, Ronnie Dayan.
He also expressed belief that the P10 million that Sebastian said he gave to De Lima was “too small.”
Meanwhile, Aguirre revealed that the Philippine National Police and National Bureau of Investigation had started the manhunt for Dayan, who was cited in contempt and ordered arrested by the House justice committee after failure to appear in the inquiry despite repeated summons.
The DOJ chief further bared that Dayan, who allegedly collected drug money from high-profile NBP inmates for De Lima’s senatorial campaign in the May 2016 polls, had not left the country.
“He is still in the country, per records of the immigration (bureau),” he said.
But Aguirre would not divulge more details on the ongoing manhunt so as not to jeopardize the operations.
