MANILA – Former Batangas Governor and convicted killer Antonio Leviste has been granted parole and is now a free man, the Department of Justice confirmed Friday.
Leviste was convicted of homicide on January 14, 2009, for killing his long-time friend and aide Rafael de las Alas. The Makati City Regional Trial Court sentenced him to 6 to 12 years in prison.
The DOJ said 34 other prisoners were also granted parole and are leaving the New Bilibid Prisons today.
The Parole and Probation Administration said it considered five conditions in granting parole to the 73-year-old Leviste including serving the minimum sentence for his homicide conviction, old age and that he is no longer considered a threat to the community.
"Ang penalty is 6 years minimum to 12 maximum. He already served more than 6 years. That's one. Second, the public knows he was charged with evasion of service of sentence. Itong evasion of service of sentence, based on the decision of Metropolitan Trial Court branch 62 of Makati, Leviste and a certain Nilo Solis de Guzman were declared not guilty of charges against them," Parole and Probation Administration head Manuel Co said in an interview on Mornings@ANC.
New Bilibid Prison OIC Superintendent Venancio Tesoro said he received word that the PPA had granted parole to 34 prisoners as far back as November 19, 2013.
"Right after we had receipt of that order, we immediately prepared the papers and yesterday lumabas na yung certificates of discharge," he said in a Mornings@ANC interview.
He also said Leviste asked permission to leave the prison today since he wanted to inform his own people about his departure.
Tesoro said Leviste is qualified for parole because he had served the minimum sentence of 6 years imprisonment minus good conduct time allowance for prisoners. He said Leviste's age was likely considered during the review of his sentence.
"Most likely the board took in that factor as a matter of course," he said.
Evasion of sentenceTesoro also confirmed that a charge of evasion of sentence was slapped against Leviste after he was caught outside prison and at the LPL Towers in Makati City.
During his arrest, he told National Bureau of Investigation agents that he had a dentist's appointment.
The prison official, however, said Leviste was able to present a defense "that he was legitimately outside because he was given a green light by the prison officers."
He said the evasion of sentence charge against Leviste was dismissed. On the other hand, four prison superintendents and a prison guard were dismissed as a result of Leviste's "furlough."
Tesoro said Leviste will still need to appear before a parole officer while outside the prison. He said it will be up to the parole officer if he will recommend that Leviste be allowed to leave the country.
From
ABS-CBNnews.com
