Bilibid maximum security for Ampatuan brothers, 39 others

JUDGEMENT DAY       The accused in the Maguindanao massacre case leave Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City to attend the promulgation of their case in Quezon City on Thursday. As the bus pulls away, some of the passengers shout that they are innocent. –GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

The 42 men convicted in connection with the 2009 Maguindanao massacre were immediately transferred to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP)’s maximum security compound in Muntinlupa City right after the case’s promulgation on Thursday.

Bureau of Jail Management and Penology spokesperson, Chief Insp. Xavier Solda, confirmed that the convicts were moved from the Quezon City Jail Annex at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City to the national penitentiary after Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 issued an order for their transfer.

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) spokesperson, Col. Gabriel Chaclag, said that the convoy of vehicles bearing brothers Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan Jr., Zaldy “Puti” Ampatuan and Anwar Ampatuan Jr. and the other convicts arrived at the NBP compound at 2:20 p.m.

The brothers, along with Anwar’s sons, Anwar Ampatuan Jr. and Anwar Sajid Ampatuan, were found guilty of 57 counts of murder in connection with the gruesome killing of 58 people—including 32 media workers—on Nov. 23, 2009.

The court issued a warrant of arrest against the 43rd convict, dismissed Police Insp. Michael Joy Ines Macaraeg, for not attending the promulgation.

Of the 43 accused, 28 were sentenced to reclusion perpetua (or imprisonment of up to 40 years) without parole. Fifteen others were sentenced to a jail term of 6-10 years for being accessories to the crime.

Chaclag said the BuCor had a “special arrangement” for their new inmates under which they would be taken straight to the NBP’s maximum security compound—home to over 18,000 hardened criminals, including other high-profile convicts.

There was no explanation given for the change in the standard operating procedure (SOP). Under the SOP, new inmates would first be admitted to the Reception and Diagnostic Center where they would spend 60 days undergoing checkups, counseling and briefing on prison rules and regulations.

They would also be assessed to determine which reformation program they should undergo during their stay in prison. Only after then would they be sent to the maximum security compound.

According to a statement on Thursday, the BuCor “has sufficiently set up all the needed precautionary measures to guarantee the safety of everyone” in anticipation of a guilty verdict against the Ampatuan members.

BuCor chief director general Gerald Bantag said there would be no special treatment extended to the convicts, noting they “[would] be treated fairly and equally like they treat ordinary [persons deprived of liberty].”

He added that as part of handling high-profile inmates, they would implement “heightened security measures in NBP.

The BuCor said it had already “integrated its plans of action” with the Philippine National Police and Bureau of Fire Protection for its ambulances “to deal with any untoward incident.”Nevertheless, Bantag assured the families of the new inmates that they [“would be] fully secured while serving their terms” inside the national penitentiary.