BuCor: Drone jailbreak unrealistic

MANILA, Philippines — A South Korean drug convict serving time at the New Bilibid Prison could not execute his escape plan of strapping himself to a drone, the Bureau of Corrections said yesterday.

The BuCor assured the public that strict security measures are in place at the national penitentiary after South Korean media reported that Park Wang-yeol planned to break out using a drone that can carry 75 kilos of weight and fly over Bilibid’s walls.

Park allegedly devised the plan shortly before he was temporarily transferred to South Korea in March at the behest of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

“All our operating prisons and penal farms are no-fly zones. We have watchtowers manned around the clock, which immediately alert our guards if there will be attempts to escape through drones,” BuCor Director Gregorio Catapang Jr. said in a statement.

Catapang noted that the audible motors of drones, especially when flying in low-lying zones, would immediately attract the attention of prison guards.

Closed-circuit televisions or CCTVs have the ability to detect suspicious activity, he said.

“A drone-assisted escape does not translate into a realistic escape method,” Catapang said.

Park was convicted in 2022 for killing three South Korean nationals in the Philippines in 2016.

He allegedly continues to distribute illegal drugs using mobile phones while in prison.