Cancer-stricken Rolito Go admits doing a Leviste

Manila, Philippines - Convicted murderer Rolito Go said yesterday he can go in and out of prison but clarified that this is due to his medical condition he is suffering from colon cancer.

In a radio interview, Go said that unlike former Batangas governor Jose Antonio Leviste – who was caught outside prison without an official permit – he secures a permit from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to undergo medical checkups. He added that he has just asked New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) officials to allow him to undergo a checkup this Monday.

Rosario Maguan, the mother of Go’s victim, Eldon, said Go reportedly visited his family in Quezon City on several occasions.

She claimed several witnesses told them Go is accompanied by two civilian escorts and fetched by a private car with tinted windows each time he has to go to a Makati hospital for his regular medical checkup.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima earlier told newsmen that an informant told her “that it’s not only Leviste, but also Rolito Go.”

The Maguans learned that NBP officials placed Go in the minimum security camp in March 2008. One of the other living out inmates is former Caluan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez, who was convicted for the rape-slay of a college student and her boyfriend.

Go was sentenced in 1994 to a maximum of 30 years imprisonment for the killing of Eldon, an engineering student, during a traffic altercation in San Juan.

Go has thrice applied for executive clemency since he was brought to the NBP but all were denied by the Bureau of Pardons and Parole (BPP) for lack of merit.

Rosario alleged that her son’s killer has been “out of prison” recently for his regular checkup at a Makati hospital even without a certification from the Department of Health and approval from the Malacañang Clinic director, which are required under the amended guidelines of the BPP.

She accused Go of enjoying living out privileges because he gave loans to jail guards.

Rosario said a source told her that Go, instead of going to the hospital, would proceed to his house and construction firm office in Quezon City, then return to the NBP late at night to avoid recognition by law enforcers.

She called on the DOJ to file administrative and criminal charges not only against Leviste’s jail guards but also against those assigned to Go.