Will heads roll at the NBP? Even BuCor chief can’t say
MANILA, Philippines―Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Franklin Jesus Bucayu admitted on Tuesday that it is hard to sack guards and officers at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City following a raid which exposed the luxurious quarters being occupied by 19 convicts last Monday.
Bucayu said in an interview over Radyo Inquirer 990 AM that BuCor is faced with manpower shortage and would need to resort to restructuring, hoping that for now, it would be enough to fix organizational problems plaguing the national penitentiary.
New Bilibid Prison. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
“Unang-una, sa kakulangan ng tao, hindi madali. Actually, itong mga ito, they are the fifth group na na-reshuffle. Panglima na ‘yan. I have reshuffled five times already to fine tune and tingnan kung sino ang dapat na mailagay na maaasahan,” Bucayu said.
(First, due to manpower shortage, it is not easy (to dismiss jail guards and officials). Acutally, they are the fifth group to be reshuffled. I have reshuffled five times already to fine tune and seek dependable persons fit for the job.)
He, however, said that all jail guards and officers who are allegedly conspiring with the 19 convicts will be probed.
“I-sa-subject lahat sila sa investigation. Titingnan ‘yung degree of tolerance nila diyan.” the BuCor chief added.
(All of them will be subjected to an investigation. Their degree of tolerance towards the inmates will be seen.)
Bucayo said that the discovery of luxury watches, wide-screen television sets, jacuzzi, bathtub, game consoles, a sex doll, unaccounted amounts of shabu, and millions of pesos in each of the 19 “kubols” or living quarters during Monday’s dawn raid is a manifestation of “bad culture” that has perpetuated inside the national penitentiary for decades.
“Alam niyo, makikita niyo na ito ay [resulta] ng decades of neglect. Napabayaan ang national penitentiary. We reap what we harvest. Heto na ‘yan. Nararanasan na natin ang epekto niyan… Kailangan makuha ang kailaliman diyan. Nagdevelop na sila ng bad culture [inside the NBP],” Bucayu reitreated.
(You can see that this (discovery of luxury kubols) is a result of decades of neglect. The national penitentiary has been neglected. We reap what we harvest. We are now realizing its effects. We must get into the bottom of this issue. They have developed a bad culture (inside the NBP).)
The convicts are allegedly involved in operating a nationwide drug dealing syndicate.
He added that they are instituting reforms inside the NBP, including lobbying for additional personnel and facilities.
“Gusto ko lang sabihin sa lahat na tayo ang nagrereporma dito. Dinatnan na namin ang ganitong sistema. Makikita po natin na apat na factors ang naglalaro dito: the facility, the personnel, the system and procedures and the structure. Tayo ay nag-re-restructure, nagre-reorient, educational training at naglobby na magkaroon ng additional facilities,” the BuCor director added.
(I would just like to say that we are implementing reforms here. We have inherited this kind of system. We will see that there are four factors in play in this issue: the facility, the personnel, the system and procedures, and the structure. We are restructuring, conducting reorientation, educational training, and lobbying for additional facilities.)
According to the BuCor’s data, there are 14,000 inmates being held in the NBP.
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