Gigi Reyes wants jail transfer
MANILA- The camp of lawyer Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes asked Thursday the Sandiganbayan third division to be transferred to a new jail, citing security reasons.
Reyes’ camp filed an urgent motion for reconsideration asking the antigraft court to transfer her Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center inside Camp Crame, where her two co-accused in the plunder and graft charges in connection with the pork barrel scam, are detained.
Anacleto Diaz, legal counsel of Reyes, said the presence of nine New People’s Army (NPA) rebels detained inside his client’s detention cell at Camp Bagong Diwa are “hostile and antagonistic to Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, who was the Minister of Defense during the regime of former President Ferdinand Marcos and former principal and coaccused in the instant case (plunder in connection with the multi-billion peso pork barrel scam).”
Enrile is one of the accused senators in the pork barrel fund scam. The two other senators are Ramon “Bong” Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada. Revilla and Estrada are detained at the PNP Custodial Center while Enrile is temporarily held in the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame.
“The detention of accused Reyes at the Female dormitory of Camp Bagong Diwa with the NPA detainees, who accused Reyes will have to mingle in the common areas, poses security risks to her life and has caused her fear and contributed to her anxiety,” the motion read.
Alleged communist rebel leader Andrea Rosal, the daughter of the rebel group’s late spokesperson Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal and eight others are currently detained inside Camp Bagong Diwa.
Reyes, the former chiefof-staff of Enrile, was rushed at the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital after suffering seizure Thursday dawn. Reyes was diagnosed with hypertensive urgency and neuro -circulatory asthenia.
The motion added that Reyes prefers to be detained at PNP Custodial Center since it is just few meters away from the PNP General Hospital.
On Wednesday, the third division has rejected the request of Reyes to be transferred at Camp Crame due to lack of merit.
Reyes surrendered at the Sandiganbayan third division on July 4 after the anti-graft issued separate warrants of arrest against her, his former boss and other co-respondents including alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.
Enrile allegedly pocketed P172 million in kickbacks from 2004 to 2012 after channeling his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to fake nongovernment organizations controlled by Napoles.