It’s us paying for their crimes

As early as last June, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it is working on the transfer of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) from Muntinlupa City to Laur in Nueva Ecija. DOJ Undersecretary Francisco Baraan disclosed this plan when he was tasked to head an investigation into the unauthorized hospitalization of several high-profile inmates at Munti, as the country’s national penitentiary is more popularly called.

As the supervising official on the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) that runs the NBP, Baraan disclosed the construction of the new national penitentiary facility is being eyed as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project of President Benigno “Noy” Aquino lII. As envisioned by planners, the new and modern facility that will be put up in Laur will follow international standards.

Specifically, the NBP will be transferred within the lands occupied by Fort Magsaysay in Laur, among the military camps owned by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Fort Magsaysay is the base of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division. While he was still vice chief of staff of the AFP, then Lt. Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang confirmed this modernization and transfer plan of NBP facilities to Fort Magsaysay.

Under the plan, the NBP will be converted into a mixed-use commercial area. The entire NBP facility has a total land area of 551 hectares. But 104 hectares of this prime real estate property were being used for a housing project for the employees of DOJ and other government agencies.

The NBP’s transfer to its new location is seen to be completed in five to seven years. According to the PPP Center, the planned new penitentiary facility that will rise in Laur can accommodate 26,880 inmates from NBP and the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW), also under the DOJ.

The construction of a new correctional facility in Laur got impetus later after the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board chaired by President Aquino approved it last October.

The House Justice committee even conducted on-site inspection of the NBP last October when BuCor Director Franklin Jesus Bucayu explained to them the P50.18-billion project was already green-lighted by the NEDA Board. The lawmakers went there to determine the status of Republic Act 10575, or the Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013. The law seeks to upgrade prison facilities, professionalize and restructure the BuCor, and increase the salary and benefits of its personnel.

Opened in 1940, NBP was originally meant to house 8,400 state prisoners. Around 23,000 inmates are currently housed in Munti, 14,500 of them reportedly jailed in the NBP’s maximum security detention.

This congestion at Munti is again used as alibi in the epic failure of NBP guards and the rest of its officials responsible for turning the state penitentiary into something like a five-star hotel for convicted drug lords, the moneyed and influential inmates. 

DOJ Secretary Leila De Lima was shocked to discover this grim reality inside and literally behind the walls of NBP when she led the surprise raid last Monday at Munti. An inventory of what they seized inside false, or hidden walls of certain NBP inmates included a luxurious jacuzzi bathtub, vaults containing Rolex watches, split-type air-conditioning unit, electronic equipment to get signals for cellular phones, and worse, high-powered firearms, huge amounts of money, and suspected shabu were found inside some of these kubols (huts) within the NBP facility.

While doing the surprise raid, they also discovered a sauna room, a recording room equipped with the latest musical instruments, among many other unexpected special rooms of privileged prisoners.

A week before the raid, the NBP came under fire after The STAR reported about a two-storey house allegedly owned and used by convicted drug lord Amin Imam Boratong. The convicted operator of the shabu tiangge in Pasig City, Boratong allegedly continues to ply his illegal drug trade even while serving his life sentence at maximum security in NBP. This, however, was belied by NBP superintendent Robert Rabo who claimed the structure in question is actually a common prayer area for Muslim inmates.

Curiously, the raid came several days after De Lima ordered BuCor chief Bucayu to conduct full-blown investigation into these latest allegations. But it was actually De Lima who got surprised by their own “surprise raid” at the NBP.  

Apparently tipped off by their cohort guards and other “moles,” these hard-core criminals even tried to mislead the raiders from discovering their secret vaults and rooms. 

Obviously while waiting for the eventual transfer of the NBP to Laur, De Lima disclosed she is seeking funds for the renovation of the NBP maximum security compound. De Lima has asked the Department of Budget and Management for P30 million to complete the renovation of Building 14 where high-profile inmates will be isolated from other prisoners.

According to her, the building is currently vacant after the renovation was stopped earlier this year due to budget constraints. Once completed, the structure can accommodate 50 to 100 inmates, including the 19 drug lords brought out from maximum security following Monday’s raid.

For now, these prisoners who enjoyed these extraordinary amenities at their NBP cells were taken and currently cooling their heels at the NBI detention facility. By segregating these high-profile prisoners, De Lima explained, their ties will be cut from the outside world, especially with unscrupulous prison guards they bribe.

How could these things have happened if their guards were not in cahoots with them? The entry of illegal and prohibited items into the facility apparently had been going on for a long time. While we understand these prisoners are being rehabilitated to become productive members of the society once finally freed after their jail term, how come they instead enjoy these luxuries, not the punishing life in jail?

Instead of these convicts paying for their crimes to society, it turns out we law-abiding Filipino taxpayers foot the bills for the state jailbirds. These convicted drug lords even continue enjoying privileged lifestyle and use the walls to hide their criminal activities while inside the penitentiary.