3-day tryst for convicted Misamis Oriental mayor?

Convicted Misamis Oriental Mayor Rey Yap reportedly had a three-day vacation from detention at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City last January.

Yap was allowed by the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division to undergo a medical check-up at the Parañaque Medical Center on Jan. 25. He was to be accompanied by the court’s sheriff and a Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) guard and was ordered to be back at the penitentiary at 3 p.m. on the same day. But a source told The STAR that while Yap did check into the hospital for the day, he came back to the NBP three days later.

A copy of the NBP official pass form obtained by The STAR indicated that an unidentified jailguard posted at the penitentiary’s Gate 1 made a handwritten note that Yap went out at 12:50 p.m. and came back at 12:20 a.m. on Jan. 28. The source said that Yap reportedly made a quick trip to his home province.

The STAR tried but failed to reach BuCor Director Ricardo Macala for his comment.

Yap, who was convicted for the murder of a political rival, was charged recently by the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) for possession of counterfeit money, which was discovered in a raid two weeks ago by the law enforcers.

Yap has denied the charge and claimed that he was being set up to be liquidated by his political opponents.