FLATTENED: A backhoe destroys one of the “kubol” built inside the maximum-security prison. | (Photo from the Bureau of Corrections Public Information Office)
MANILA, Philippines — More than two years after supposedly dismantling all of them, illegal structures and kubol (makeshift dwellings) were back again in the maximum security compound of New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
Personnel of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) started destroying the unauthorized structures on Friday, two weeks after four armed prisoners bolted out of the heavily guarded national penitentiary.
Gerald Bantag, director general of the BuCor, led the demolition team at the east quadrant of Bilibid’s maximum security compound, which covers Dormitories 2, 5 and 9.
Bantag said dismantling the kubol would rid the Bilibid’s persistent problem of illegal drugs and contrabands.
At one point, Bantag himself even drove a backhoe to flatten the illegal structures in the area.
The clearing operations continued on Saturday.
Photo from the Bureau of Corrections Public Information Office
“Other camps will similarly be cleared of illegal, unauthorized and makeshift dwellings,” he said.
At least 500 bladed weapons, improvised firearms, phones, pocket Wi-Fi and other contraband were seized by BuCor personnel on the first day of clearing, and more were expected to be confiscated.
“This activity aims to clear the east quadrant of possible hiding places of unauthorized items and improve the security environment within the area,” the BuCor said in a statement.
The cleared areas would become common areas for group activities such as sports and educational projects.
In a TV interview, Bantag said the inmates were allowed to set up kubol due to the overcrowding in the prison facility.
But old dormitories inside the east quadrant have already been renovated and improved to increase their holding capacity, thus, the kubol were no longer needed and had to be destroyed, he said.
As of November 2021, Bilibid housed 28,509 inmates. It is supposed to accommodate only 6,345 inmates.
Photo from the Bureau of Corrections Public Information Office
More than 17,000 inmates, convicted of crimes with sentences of 20 years and longer, are imprisoned in the maximum security compound.
It was in the east quadrant where three of the four inmates who escaped on Jan. 17 came from. It was also the site of the Jan. 2 riot that killed three prisoners and injured 14 others.
The last time a major clearing operation was held was in 2019.
From Oct. 9 to Oct. 25, 2019, Bantag, then newly appointed head of the BuCor, ordered the demolition of kubol. More than a thousand police officers were deployed to guard the demolition teams.
Photo from the Bureau of Corrections Public Information Office