MANILA, Philippines — More than 7,000 beer in cans and other contraband were allegedly sneaked into the Maximum Security Compound of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) because of the corruption of personnel from the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
Current BuCor officer-in-charge Gregorio Catapang Jr. exposed the shady practices affecting NBP during a press conference on Wednesday, saying that several inmates have already identified BuCor and BJMP personnel as behind the inflow of contrabands.
“May mga kumanta na kung sino nagpapasok, but we cannot divulge to you kasi under investigation pa,” said Catapang.
(There are already inmates who have named several personnel allowing the contrabands to enter, but we cannot divulge who they are yet because it is still under investigation.)
“‘Wag kayo mag alala ia-announce po namin mga pangalan na ‘yan (don’t worry, we will name those personnel in time) with the clearance of [Justice Sec. Jesus Crispin Remulla],” he added.
When asked whether they were from BuCor, Catapang said “Of course, paano pa makakapasok ‘yan (how else would the contrabands be able to enter).”
However, he clarified that this happened when the BJMP was still in charge of the Maximum Security Compound.
“Not all involved are BJMP personnel, safe to say a mix of BuCor and BJMP,” he explained.
According to Catapang, the involved personnel will be given due process, but if they were already transferred back to their respective unit, the case will be handed over to their bureau instead (referring to the BJMP).
Meanwhile, the personnel still inside the NBP will be relieved from their duties.
Catapang did not give an estimated date when the involved personnel would be exposed.
The beer-in-cans were sold for P1,000 a piece inside the NBP Maximum Security Compound.
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