Leviste faces new charge for leaving jail

MANILA, Philippines - Former Batangas Governor Antonio Leviste, convicted and imprisoned in 2010 for homicide, is facing new charges before the Department of Justice (DOJ) after he was nabbed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents on Wednesday outside his office-residence in Makati City.
A report by ABS-CBN correspondent Anthony Taberna said the NBI filed a complaint of evasion of service of sentence against Leviste before the justice department on Thursday.
Senior Assistant  State Prosecutor Lilian Doris Alejo said the case is already submitted for resolution, and a decision could be issued immediately if the case will be brought to court.
If found guilty, Leviste could be sentenced to an additional 6 years in jail. The incident could also affect his application for clemency, which is already pending before the DOJ.
Leviste was arrested outside  LPL building in Makati, which he owns, on Wednesday afternoon. It is the same building where he admitted to killing his aide, Rafael de las Alas, on January 12, 2007.
He was subsequently convicted by the Makati Regional Trial Court of homicide, which the Court of Appeals upheld in a ruling last year.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she never once gave Leviste a pass to go out of the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) premises in Muntinlupa City. Any instance he went out is, therefore, illegal, she added.
The DOJ chief has formed a fact-finding committee to investigate who allowed Leviste to leave the jail. The panel is expected to issue its probe findings next Wednesday.