Department of Justice Vitaliano Aguirre has ordered an investigation into the death of a 61-year old prisoner in Manila, who should already have been released even as an automatic review of his case was still pending.
Identified as Api Ang, the prisoner reportedly died of a heart ailment.
Secretary Aguirre said the drug-related case of Ang had already been junked by the City Prosecutor’s Office of Manila.
Department Circular No. 4, which Aguirre issued on January 4, 2017, provides that, notwithstanding the automatic review of cases involving the maximum penalty of life imprisonment, a respondent should “immediately be released from detention unless detained for other causes.”
Aguirre directed the National Bureau of Investigation “to conduct a case buildup for possible violation of laws by the Manila Police District and its responsible officers in the death of Api Ang.”
