VACC fears prisoners will be used to execute poll bets

Following a call for the militarization of the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP), the Volunteers against Crime and Corruption (VACC) warned yesterday candidates in next year’s polls that their lives may be at risk as prisoners are allegedly being hired for political assassinations and other heinous acts.

VACC Founding Chairman and President Dante Jimenez also expressed fear for the lives of members of his group after recounting how inmates are temporarily released from jails to perform crimes.

“The governors are in control of provincial jails and the funds are from the office of the governor. Kung ang governor ay walanghiya at gusto niya lang manalo sa eleksyon, puede niya ipapatay ang hindi sumusuporta sa kanya (If governors are vicious and he wants to win an election at all cost, then he can have those against him killed),” Jimenez told the press in a conference in Manila yesterday.

“If you are running for public office, your lives are at stake because you can never be sure…look at the one who died in Mindanao. This is my challenge to the Philippine National Police (PNP). Who do you think killed him? I think many of them came from the jails,” Jimenez said.

The VACC official was referring to Tungawan (Zamboanga Sibugay) Mayor Randy Climaco who was ambushed earlier this month.

The ambush occurred in the afternoon of Oct. 12, 2015 at Purok 7 in Barangay Cayamcam, Tungawan, while Climaco and his companions were aboard a pick-up type of vehicle. Reports said the ambush happened hours after Climaco filed his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for vice mayor.

“Crimes conducted by riding-in-tandems are also rampant. They (prisoners) can leave the jail and receive guns and money and go back to jail after the deed,” Jimenez added.

Lawyer Carmencita De Castro, a member of the VACC, also told the press how she lost her SUV to carnappers while it was parked between a mall at the Hacienda Luisita, which is near a police station. Through the help of a witness, De Castro said she was able to find out that the perpetrator is a prisoner but the case did not prosper and nobody was convicted in the crime.

The VACC also reiterated its call for President Aquino to step down from power over his alleged inefficiency and failure to govern and maintain peace and order in the country.

He said the previous raid at the NBP that yielded several high-powered firearms, a grenade, bladed weapons and even a remote-controlled drone plane is only the “tip of the iceberg” that requires thorough investigation and attention from the administration.