Illegal detention raps filed vs Jaylo

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed before the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) yesterday serious illegal detention charges against former police officer Reynaldo Jaylo, head of the defunct Presidential Anti-illegal Recruitment Task Force (PAIRTF).

State Prosecutor Romeo Senson said that based on evidence submitted by the prosecution and defense panel, the DOJ panel found probable cause to indict Jaylo for the crime.

The charges against Jaylo and eight of his men, who made up the first batch of accused, stemmed from the detention of several alleged illegal recruiters in a cell of the PAIRTF office.

Senson said the detention was "without express authority of the law."

His panel gave weight to the report submitted by the National Bureau of Investigation’s special action unit that the task force created through Executive Order ceased to legally exists last July 9.

"Respondent Jaylo, in effect, maintained a private army and an office in the guise of a task force. A close analysis of the documentary evidence he submitted showed that he has no authority whatsoever to continue operating on his own and independently of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), his and his co-respondents’ alleged anti-illegal recruitment activities under the name of PAIRTF," Senson said.

Senson said Jaylo also has no authority to maintain on his own, and independently of the POEA, his own detention cell.