Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said government personnel indicted for their involvement in the flood-control scandal will receive ‘no special treatment.’
During a visit to the Pasay City Jail on Thursday, Remulla said no inmate would be placed in the warden’s office, adding all would stay in the common room.
‘Absolutely no special treatment, especially in the floodgate [scandal]. If they are involved and have been indicted in court, they will be treated as regular inmates. If you stole P100, you’ll be jailed here. If you stole P100 million, you’ll also be jailed here,’ Remulla said in Filipino.
He explained that this policy covers government personnel under salary grade 27, or those earning P126,252 and below. Those with higher salary grades will face trial before the Sandiganbayan.
According to the Pasay City Jail warden, 50 to 100 incarcerated individuals will share a cell under close supervision.
The Pasay City Jail was originally built to accommodate only 100 inmates, but its current population has swelled to 964.
Remulla estimated that after the flood-control-related trials, the facility would hold more than a thousand individuals.
He also told reporters that he expects ‘around 200 to 250 people will be indicted’ in connection with the flood-control projects.
‘This estimate is based on what I saw during the Senate hearings. The Ombudsman, senators, district engineers, ‘cong-tractors’ (a term for congressmen who act as contractors), and the Commission on Audit were among those who certified the ghost projects as ‘complete,” he said in Filipino.
Remulla also assured the public that the DILG and the government are ‘ready to apprehend, contain, isolate, and to give due justice,’ adding in Filipino that ‘the law for the poor is the same as the law for the wealthy.’