NBI raids Bilibid anew

MANILA, Philippines - More hidden rooms, a martial arts gym, illegal sex enhancers and expensive appliances were discovered when the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) raided New Bilibid Prison (NBP) again on Friday. 

Prison guards again allegedly tried to mislead the raiding team, similar to what happened during last Monday’s raid, an official privy to raid said.

With the use of battering rams and halligan bars, battle-ready NBI agents knocked down wooden walls that hid contraband and a martial arts gym in inmate Hans Chua’s kubol or villa.

Other hidden rooms yielded split-type air conditioning units, permits to carry firearms and documents identifying who among the NBP officials allowed the contraband in.

The second raid is meant to determine if the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), which is in charge of the country’s prisons, followed Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s order to dismantle the “luxurious” villas owned by 19 drug lords, who were removed from prison last Monday.

Some kubols were reduced to rubble, while some were just stripped of appliances. 

Investigators also discovered that the BuCor allowed robbery gang leader Herbert Colangco to hold a concert in a hotel and casino in Pasay City last September. Colangco’s posters were plastered on the NBP’s walls.

According to a radio dzMM report, De Lima entered at least five kubols used by Arman Agojo, Vicente Sy, Eugene Chua and Benjamin Marcelo and ordered the raiding team to check the ceilings for contraband.

At least two air conditioning units were found hidden in the ceiling of Sy’s kubol.

Friday’s raid comes just four days after police commandos found narcotics, cash, sex toys, a jacuzzi, guns and Rolex watches in the villas of high-profile inmates.