THE Philippine National Police (PNP) refused to accommodate customs broker Mark Taguba at the PNP custodial center for legal and practicality reasons, a police official said Wednesday, February 28.
PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao said the refusal of the Headquarters Support Service (HSS) to accept and detain Taguba at the PNP custodial center as ordered by the Manila Regional Trial Court is in accordance with Circular number 76-2010 of the Office of the Court Administrator of the Supreme Court that directs metropolitan and regional trial courts to refrain from issuing commitment orders involving the said facility.
“The PNP, through the HSS ,is recommending instead the turnover of Taguba’s custody to the facilities of BJMP (Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City). The PNP custodial center has discontinued the acceptance of detainees in the facility on the exception of high risk, high profile personalities granting the SC prompting the circular 76-2010,” he said.
“And for practicality reasons, ‘yun ang naging recommendation ng PNP kasi it would be too expensive for the PNP to be keeping him here in Camp Crame and bring him back and fort to Manila during hearings, because with this situation, the resources, the human, the materials and financial of the PNP can be greatly affected,” he added.
Bulalacao said the PNP-HSS has already made necessary coordination with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) where Taguba is currently detained.
He assured that the BJMP facility in Camp Bagong Diwa can provide Taguba security similar to what the custodial center can give him.
Taguba has been placed under the custody of NBI since February 1. He has requested that he be allowed to stay at the NBI instead of the Manila City jail due to threats to his life over his knowledge and alleged involvement in the shipment of P6.4 billion worth of illegal drugs into the country. (VoxPop Philippines)
