MANILA, Philippines -- Family ties between jail authorities and inmates are allegedly why there is a thriving drug industry inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Dionisio Santiago said Monday.

A week after exposing the alleged existence of the drug trade inside the national penitentiary, Santiago said prison officials allegedly “protect” relatives who are drug traders against other officials.

The protection allegedly consists of destroying any evidence that would link prisoners to the illicit trade.

But pressed for names, Santiago declined, although he said they were ranking officials.

The solution, Santiago told reporters during a press conference, would be to “isolate” the NBP to “break up [the families] and stop the connivance between prison officials and prisoners. You have to break up the families.”

He also called on NBP and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officials to reform the national penitentiary by undertaking moves like providing better pay for prison officials to “correct their attitude” of protecting prisoners involved in the drug trade.

Earlier, Santiago confirmed the veracity of a letter received by his office from a “Mrs. Maximum Security,” who claimed to be the wife of an inmate and detailed the alleged illegal activities inside the NBP including drug peddling, gambling, loan sharking and even prostitution.

“I pity [BuCor chief] General [Oscar] Calderon because big money is at play within Bilibid. The drug trade will not stop by itself so they cannot wax hot and cold. The campaign against illegal drugs should be continuous,” Santiago said.

Santiago is also pushing for a “unified correctional system,” which will synchronize all the programs of the country’s prison system. He said this will allow prison officials to monitor all activities inside prison compounds.