DOJ bomb threat linked to Bilibid raids, visitation ban
MANILA, Philippines–The bomb threat at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday was apparently meant to pressure Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to lift the suspension of inmates’ visitation rights at the maximum security compound of the New Bilibid Prison.
De Lima said she received the threat through a text message when she was attending a meeting in Malacañang.
“May sasabog sa DOJ kung hindi ngayong araw ibabalik yung visitation rights ng inmates sa Bilibid,” the text message read.
A source meanwhile said, “We are still verifying whether itong threat na ito ay may kinalaman sa recent raids ng DOJ sa NBP at yung pag-disallow sa visitation rights nung mga high-profile inmates.”
The National Bureau of Investigation, an attached agency of the DOJ, was the first to respond to the threat followed by the Manila Police District. The Presidential Security Group (PSG) arrived with four bomb sniffing dogs as prosecutors and employees were evacuated from the building.
De Lima made the NBI her temporary office after receiving the bomb threat. The justice secretary said the raids inside the Bilibid compound will continue until authorities are certain that the national penitentiary is free from illegal drugs and other contraband items.
Visitation privileges are still suspended inside Bilibid, as well as in the NBI detention of 20 transferred inmates.
“We will soon be restoring their privileges, we’re just firming up the guidelines to ensure security and also to ensure that they will have no communication with their cohorts outside,” De Lima told reporters on Monday.
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