EDITORIAL - Credible probe

If President Aquino wants to get the whole, unvarnished truth about drug deals and luxurious privileges enjoyed by certain VIP inmates at the New Bilibid Prison, it would be best to let another agency outside the Department of Justice handle the probe. Or else he can give the Office of the Ombudsman a free hand in its ongoing probe, with orders for the DOJ and its agencies including the Bureau of Corrections and NBP to extend full cooperation.

Teams from several law enforcement agencies raided the NBP in the wake of strong suspicions that drug trafficking in Metro Manila was being operated from the National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa. The raid uncovered not just shabu, drugs and millions in cash but also the atrociously comfortable detention facilities enjoyed by several convicted drug lords. The plush accommodations were on top of regular hospital stays outside the NBP, complete with starlets for entertainment, enjoyed by certain prisoners.

The raid, followed by two more amid reports that NBP personnel had misled the first raiding team, fueled questions on how high up culpability should go. Officials of the NBP and BuCor, who hold office within the Bilibid reservation in Muntinlupa, have to be either incredibly clueless or incredibly corrupt for villa-type detention cells to be built, complete with carpeting, air-conditioning, a sauna, Jacuzzi and even a personal live music area.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima quickly announced that she did not believe BuCor chief Franklin Bucayu was in cahoots with the VIP prisoners. De Lima may be right, but the conclusion will have credibility if given by an official with no direct supervision over the BuCor.

The President should also not discount the possibility that even certain DOJ officials may be held liable, at the very least for administrative lapses. The drug convicts, under suspicion for new offenses, can be turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for interrogation. PDEA agents are among those who have long complained about drug deals operated from within the NBP.

Department heads are not the most reliable probers of their own agencies. We saw what happened when Transport Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya was tasked to look into reports of anomalous transactions in the Metro Rail Transit under Al Vitangcol. President Aquino, who professes to follow the straight path, should want to see a better probe in the case of the drug lords in the NBP.