Airport-type security at Bilibid eyed

Just like passengers at the airport, visitors at the national penitentiary will be screened and have to undergo strict security inspection to get inside.

Officials at the New Bilibid Prisons said yesterday a lifting area similar to that is used at the airports would soon be set up.

The system, according to bureau of information office chief Emmy Divina, would be housed at the new building beside Gate 4.

Divina said the new security measure is part of their program to prevent the smuggling of contraband to the prison colonies.

It includes a closed-circuit television system, metal detectors and other equipment similar to those found at the airport.

"We only need the conveyor and the equipment will be ready for installation," Divina said in an interview.

According to NBP officials, the new system will be more efficient and visitor-friendly because it would do away with the long lines which normally starts forming at the entrance gate as early as 4 a.m.

Visitors, who are allowed to stay inside the prison colonies from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., have to deal with long lines at the lifting and searching areas.

Divina added that the passes given to visitors, which have to be checked several times in every visit, would be replaced by a more efficient ID system.

The NBP official admitted that banned items, especially illegal drugs, have become rampant inside the maximum security compound.

However, Divina said they are addressing this issue. "The director (Dionisio Santiago) already knows these areas where illegal drug trades are being conducted."

Apart from the preventive measures, the NBP will continue random drug testing of inmates to deter use of illegal drugs inside the national penitentiary.