Jad Dera may have influenced some NBI probes, says Remulla

Jad Dera, the erstwhile detainee at the National Bureau of Investigation jail who allegedly managed to leave and return to his detention, may have influenced some of the probes by the NBI, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Monday.

Dera, who has been transferred to the Muntinlupa City Jail, was arrested recently with six NBI security officers after he left the agency’s detention facility supposedly to go out on a date.

There were reportedly other instances when Dera left the jail with his escorts and later returned.

“‘Yung nangyari kay Dera… mabuting nangyari ‘yan kasi may natuklasan kami na mga gawain ni Dera sa loob na kung saan naimpluwensyahan niya mga ibang imbestigasyon ng mga taong nakakulong doon sa loob,” Remulla said in a media briefing.

(What happened with Dera is a good thing because we discovered things Dera was doing that may have influenced the investigation of the detained individuals.)

He said Dera achieved this through his position as a “mayores," or a leader among detainees.

Remulla said the DOJ was still investigating how much Dera influenced the situation at the NBI.

When asked if Dera may have influenced the recantations of the accused in the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, Remulla said, "Wala ho tayong inaatrasan na posibiidad."

(We are not discounting any possibility.)

GMA News Online has sought comment from the NBI but has yet to receive a response as of posting time.

Atty. Raymund Palad, Dera's legal counsel, denied that his client had that much influence.

“My client does not wield that alleged ‘powers’ as claimed by SOJ," Palad told GMA News Online.

“Friendship is different sa power,” he added.

Palad said Dera was too young to be a "mayor" inside the NBI jail

The DOJ had said that Dera enjoyed certain privileges at the NBI facility such as being able to come and go from the facility, food, and sleeping conditions.

During a Senate hearing, Dera admitted that he was able to leave the NBI facility multiple times, and only one of those trips had a court order.

He said he was able to leave the NBI’s detention facility on January 20, 2022 to have himself checked in a hospital in Manila which was authorized by a court order dated December 10, 2021.

Dera also admitted that he was able to leave the detention facility for the second time to go to another hospital and have his heart checked, but this time he had no approval from the court.

The third time that he was able to leave the NBI was on Father’s Day this year and the fourth time was on June 20, reportedly for a date, where he and five NBI jail guards were nabbed.

Dera also confirmed claims that he was also able to go to Calatagan, Batangas and being able to go to Tagaytay City with other NBI officers. —NB, GMA Integrated News