MANILA — Gigi Reyes, chief of staff of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who voluntarily surrendered to the sheriff’s office of the Sandiganbayan on Friday will be temporarily detained at the anti-graft court’s detention facility.
The Sandiganbayan earlier ordered Reyes to be detained at the Quezon City Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
Atty. Dennis Pulma, the court’s clerk, however, told reporters that Reyes needs to wait until Monday and be temporarily detained at the Sandiganbayan detention facility located at the basement of the building while waiting for the BJMP’s reply if they have space for the accused.
“She (Reyes) is hereby ordered detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Quezon City. The jail warden of BJMP is hereby directed to submit a report to the court on whether the BJMP has adequate facility for such detention and the means to secure the person of the accused within three days from notice hereof,” a portion of the minute resolution issued by the court stated.
“Meantime accused, Reyes is ordered detained at the Sandiganbayan detention cell and the security and sheriff service of the court is hereby directed to keep the accused in its custody and not allow the accused to be moved, removed or relocated,” the resolution added.
On the other hand, lawyers of Enrile failed to get commitment order from the Sandiganbayan for his detention at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame.
Sandiganbayan’s Third Division chaired by Associate Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang was not able to issue commitment order for Enrile.
Enrile surrendered to Camp Crame authorities but after undergoing booking which includes physical examination, mug shots and finger printing, doctors found out that his blood pressure shoot up to 200/90. They also detected murmurs in his heart.
That is why attending physicians recommended the elderly senator to be confined at the PNP General Hospital due to health condition.
Enrile, Reyes, Janet Lim Napoles, and two others were accused of plunder after allegedly amassing P172.83 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) by allegedly funding with his pork barrel allocations the ghost projects of Napoles’ bogus foundations and receiving hefty kickbacks in return