Colanggo: I was thrown out of Bilibid despite giving De Lima P3M monthly

Convicted armed robber and drug dealer Herbert Colanggo (Colangco) on Tuesday expressed disappointment at being "thrown" to the National Bureau of Investigation in December 2014 despite giving then-Justice Secretary Leila de Lima P3 million a month for her campaign.

Colangco's eight-month stay at the NBI prevented him from enjoying what he described as a "Las Vegas"-like lifestyle that he had at the national penitentiary, where he was "chairman" who had supervision over fellow inmates.

During a House inquiry, Colangco claimed collecting P3 million from his fellow inmates every month since October 2013 and giving the money to De Lima through her security aide Joenel Sanchez.

Apart from collecting money from inmates, Colangco said he was also instructed by Sanchez to sell 10 kilograms of drugs every month. In November 2014, however, Sanchez told Colangco to "centralize" their drug operations.

Under the new "centralized system," Colangco would get 30 to 50 kilos of illegal drugs from big-time drug lords at the NBP.

Sanchez reportedly said they would arrange for the drug lords to be transferred to a faraway prison complex, so Colangco would no longer have to pay for the drugs he got from them.

"Hindi ako pumayag na estapahin ang mga drug lords dahil naiisip ko paano na kung wala na si Sec. De Lima o ang director ng Bilibid? Hindi ko rin naisip na ako ay ipapatapon dahil nagbibigay naman ako ng payola kay Sec. De Lima ng P3 million at sa [Bureau of Corrections] director ng P1.2 million kada buwan," he said in his affidavit.

Colangco, however, still ended up being among the 19 Bilibid inmates who were transferred from the NBP to the NBI headquarters in December 2015, following a raid led by De Lima where contraband and prohibited items were confiscated.

After being brought to the NBI, Colangco said he tried convincing De Lima to order his return to the NBP. He said he was allowed to speak with her at the NBI conference room.

Sitting beside her, Colangco recounted as having whispered to De Lima: "Ma'am, iyong instruction ni Ronnie Dayan kay Joenel, payag na po ako wag niyo lang akong ipatapon," referring to the new centralized operation of drug peddling inside NBP.

De Lima allegedly responded: "Got it, got it."

Colangco said he thanked De Lima, stood up and walked away. He said as he was leaving, De Lima called him and said: "Herbert, temporary ka lang muna doon."

"Sa isip ko, natutuwa ako dahil baka 2 to 3 days lang ako tapos ibabalik ako sa maximum," said Colangco. "Pero inabot ako ng walong buwan sa NBI."

While away, Colangco said his fellow inmate Jaybee Sebastian ran the illegal drug trade at the NBP. "Hindi isinama [si Sebastian] at siya na ang nag-centralize ng operasyon ng droga sa loob ng Bilibid at ipinapatapon ang mga kalaban," he said. —KBK, GMA News