PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — THE family of murder victim Eldon Maguan revealed yesterday they received reliable information that a ranking official of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) allegedly received huge amount of cash for release of convicted murderer Rolito Go from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
Go, who has been asking for presidential pardon and commutation of sentence for the past three years, reportedly gave P2 million cash to the PAO official.
Ellis Maguan, older brother of Eldon, said they learned that the money was deposited in a Banco de Oro branch in Quezon City early this month.
Go was sentenced in 1996 by the Pasig Regional Trial Court to reclusion perpetua or a maximum of 30 years imprisonment for the death of Maguan, a La Salle Engineering student, in Greenhills, San Juan.
It can be recalled that the government put up a P700,000 reward to the early recapture of Go, who escaped the Rizal Provincial Jail three days before Pasig Regional Trial Court Judge Benjamin Pelayo promulgated the sentence.
After three years of hiding, the convicted murderer was rearrested in a piggery farm in Pampanga despite Go’s alleged effort to offer a P2-million bribe to the arresting officers.
Ellis added that the PAO official promised to the relatives of Go that “we will push and recommend to the Office of the President for Go’s release next month (June).”
The PAO official appealed to President Arroyo to approve Go’s urgent petition as “the convict is now qualified for clemency and Go has been suffering long enough for that crime.”
Late last year, the Maguan family also learned that a ranking Malacañang official was reportedly facilitating Go’s immediate release before President Arroyo’s term ends in 2010.
Lawyer Jose Flaminiano, counsel of the Maguan family, claimed that the ranking government official is a close friend of Go. The official is a godfather of one of Go’s sons.
Officials of the Bureau of Corrections placed Go in a minimum security or live-out inmate last March, which surprised the Maguan family, including legal luminaries.
Flaminiano also pointed out that Go should still stay at the maximum facility since he had served his sentence for only 13 years and not qualified to be live-out inmate.