(Eagle News)– Because of his delicate health condition, convicted kidnapper and high-profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian failed to attend the resumption of hearings at the House of Representatives on Thursday morning (October 6) regarding the illegal drug anomalies at the national penitentiary.
At the start of the hearings in Congress, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said that Sebastian was supposed to appear that morning but that the recommendation of the medical doctor attending to him was that his physical condition was still very delicate and that tubes attached to him at the hospital cannot yet be removed.
Aguirre then read the medical condition of Sebastian as submitted by his doctors.
He then requested that the next hearing be set on Monday, October 10, by which time Sebastian might be ready to face the congressional hearing, according to Aguirre.
Before this, Sebastian was set to file a criminal case against Senator Leila de Lima at the Office of the Ombudsman, but that this was turned down on Wednesday for not complying with the requirements.
It was only Sebastian’s lawyer, Eduardo Arriba Jr., who tried to file a case against the former Justice Secretary over undue threats or injury allegedly inflicted to his client.
Arriba said that De Lima violated section 3E of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, which states that a public official who causes undue injury in the discharge of his function through evident bad faith and gross inexcusable negligence will be penalized.
Sebastian’s wife also failed to appear before the Ombudsman on Wednesday.
Arriba said that they would try to file the complaint again.
The complaint stemmed from the transfer of Sebastian from the National Bilibid Prison’s maximum security compound to Building 14. The transfer was made in 2014 upon the order of then Department of Justice secretary De Lima. Sebastian claimed his life was endangered in Building 14.
Sebastian was one of the four injured in the recent stabbing incident inside the NBP.
Sebastian’s lawyer said that his client was willing to cooperate with the House inquiry regarding the proliferation of illegal drugs and the presence of the illegal drug trade at the NBP.
Arriba said Sebastian’s life was now in danger.
“He is willing to disclose anything to his personal knowledge,” Arriba said.
Aguirre said that on Monday, October 10, Sebastian and another inmate Vicente Sy, one of those wounded in the stabbing incident at the NBP, would be present in the House inquiry.
