(Eagle News) – It was New Bilibid Prison inmate Tomas Donina who had linked Senators Leila de Lima and Antonio Trillanes IV to the previous attempt to kill controversial inmate Jaybee Sebastian in September last year.
This was the clarification of Department of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II amid denials from De Lima that she was behind any attempt on the life of Sebastian who had earlier linked her to the illegal drug trade at the government’s national penitentiary. Trillanes also issued a separate statement denying his involvement in the slay attempt on Jaybee.
Aguirre said that the threat to Sebastian’s life was real as no less than the inmate who attacked Jaybee had confessed that he had received instructions to kill Sebastian through a Philippine Navy official allegedly coming from the two senators.
The justice chief said Donina had executed an affidavit linking De Lima and Trillanes to the slay attempt for fear that Sebastian would reveal all the he knows about De Lima’s alleged drug connections.
Donina, in his affidavit, said a navy official had talked to him to make sure that Sebastian would not spill the beans on De Lima. The Navy official was allegedly instructed by Trillanes to make sure that Sebastian would be killed.
The Navy official allegedly promised Donina that he would be freed once President Rodrigo Duterte is brought down from power.
“Lumalabas dito sa statement na ito ni Donina na nagsama na ang grupo ni De Lima at Senator Trillanes sa pagpapatay kay JB Sebastian,” Aguirre said.
“Inamin nya (Donina) na siya ang sumaksak kay Jaybee sa utos ng isang ka-batch niya sa Navy na nagsabing kailangang mawala si Sebastian. Nagkasundo na ang kampo ni Senator Trillanes at De Lima na iligpit si Jaybee para di makapagsalita kay mam Leila ukol sa pagkalat ng droga sa Bilibid,” the DOJ chief said.
