Facade of the building of the Bureau of Corrections INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / LYN RILLON
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sonny Angara said Thursday that within four months, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) could begin to show signs of improvement.
During the Senate plenary session on the 2023 budget of the Department of Justice and its attached agencies, Senator Raffy Tulfo asked when corruption will stop in the BuCor.
BuCor has come under scrutiny as of late because of the revelation that someone from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) provided the order to kill broadcaster Percy Lapid.
BuCor, which runs the NBP in Muntinlupa City, made news recently for sweeping up shabu and beer cans from prisoners.
“Kailan ho ba matitigil itong katiwalian sa BuCor na kung saan madaling maipasok o palaging nakakapasok ang kontrabando sa loob ng BuCor?
(When will anomalies such as the entry of contraband end in BuCor?)
“Ito ho ba’y matutuldukan o patuloy na ating makikita o mararamdaman o mababalitaan itong klaseng problema sa loob ng BuCor?” Tulfo quizzed.
(Will this end or will we continue seeing or hearing news about these problems inside BuCor?)
Angara, Senate finance committee chairperson and budget sponsor, replied that systemic changes to reform BuCor will be implemented within two to four years.
Tulfo then asked if changes could be made in two to four months.
“‘Yung two to four years pwede ba nating gawing two to four months? Kung gusto, maraming paraan. Kung ayaw, maraming dahilan,” he said.
(Can the two to four years be to two to four months? If there’s a will, there’s a way. If not, there are many excuses.)
Angara responded that changes might be seen in four months.
“In four months ho, may ipinapangako na ho silang pagbabago. Maaaring hindi 100 percent pero uumpisahan na ho at magpapakitang gilas na po sila,” Angara said.
(In four months, they commit to changes. Maybe not 100 percent but they will start to show improvements.)
Former Armed Forces chief-of-staff Gregorio Catapang Jr. is the current BuCor officer-in-charge after its director general Gerald Bantag has been suspended to give way for the investigation on the death of the alleged middleman in the Lapid slay case.