7th Bilibid raid since Dec keeps yielding contraband

Another raid on the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), the seventh since mid-December and long after the so-called VIPs (very important prisoners) have been transferred to another facility, yielded more cash, mobile phones, ledgers and notebooks apparently used for criminal activities.

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Jesus Bucayu said the 6 a.m. raid on Saturday found about P600,000 in cash from the kubol or detention spaces of five inmates. The raid was a joint operation of the BuCor, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

It was the latest in a series of crackdowns initiated by the Department of Justice (DOJ), with first raid on Dec. 15 exposing the luxurious conditions enjoyed by convicted drug lords whose kubol were found with a jacuzzi, power generator, Internet and home theater systems, and even studio recording equipment.

The DOJ has since transferred 19 high-profile convicts from the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa City to the NBI headquarters in Manila. Five NBP officials were later sacked.

On Thursday, the NBP disclosed that the earlier raids—on Dec. 15, 22, 29, 31 and Jan. 4 and 6—yielded a total of 19 firearms, over 400 rounds of ammunition and 268 appliances.

That same day, however, a grenade exploded inside the NBP’s maximum security compound, killing one inmate and wounding 19 others.

The kubol raided on Saturday were occupied by inmates Noel Arnejo, Gianfranco Pasco, Edelberto Durano, Brando Ramirez and Joselito Valiente, Bucayu said.

According to an NBP source, three of these inmates reportedly witnessed Thursday’s grenade attack and could help pinpoint the perpetrator. Kristine Felisse Mangunay