Bulacan engineer seeks writ of amparo

"Serious" and "active" threats to the life of former Bulacan first district assistant engineer Brice Hernandez are the reasons why his camp filed a petition for a writ of amparo before a Pasay court yesterday.

- By EJ MACABABBAD

Hernandez, whom the Senate cited in contempt last Monday for allegedly lying during his testimony before the Blue Ribbon committee, was transferred to Pasay City Jail at around 8:50 p.m. on Wednesday — wearing a bulletproof vest — after a heated debate ensued among senators about where he should be detained.

The engineer requested the House infrastructure committee (infra-comm) on Tuesday not to bring him back to the Senate, citing threats to his life after accusing Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada of accepting kickbacks from flood control projects in Bulacan.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Speaker Martin Romualdez agreed to detain Hernandez at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Facility inside Camp Crame.

Ernest Levanza, legal counsel for Hernandez, described the motive for transferring his client as "highly suspect," especially given the life threats against him.

"The PNP Custodial Facility is a better option, so we don't understand why he has to be here in Pasay City Jail," Levanza told reporters on Thursday. "In fact, during the Senate debate, there was no instance where Pasay City Jail was even considered an option."