Bureau of Corrections. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — Seven officers of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) were relieved from duty to give way for an investigation into the complaint of wives of inmates, or persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), regarding the strip cavity search being implemented by the bureau.
Correction Officers 1 were Karen Soriano, Kiera Iket, Odesa Etong, Ahmor Darasin, Guada Bello, Melowyne Tallongan, and Angelique Domingo.
READ: NBP inmates’ wives hit ‘traumatic’ strip search
The investigation was ordered by BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., while New Bilibid Prison Acting Superintendent Ruben Formoso ordered the officers’ discontinuation of service.
“They will be placed under attached/unassigned at the New Bilibid Prison Superintendent’s Office,” BuCor said in a statement on Wednesday.
The investigation will focus on how the seven officers conducted their strip search and if they violated any protocol.
READ: BuCor: strip search only for highly suspicious visitors
Meanwhile, correction senior inspector Abel Ciruela, the camp commander of the New Bilibid Prison Maximum Security Camp, showed members of the press how BuCor personnel conduct an inspection of PDL visitors in a walkthrough on Tuesday.
He mentioned that strip cavity searches have been done on all visitors since 2018.
It eventually became mandatory due to the number of contraband confiscated inside the camp and visitors who attempted to smuggle the illegal items, he added.
Ciruela noted that visitors are also given a “waiver of right to frisk/pat, rub, strip and/or visual cavity search.”
Those who do not want to undergo the strip cavity search, on the other hand, may “visit” their loved ones through BuCor’s E-Dalaw or online visitation.
According to Catapang, the strip search is being implemented as they must be “very cautious to prevent the smuggling of contraband into our facilities.”
“In the absence of body scanners, we have to do it manually. In the meantime that we are looking for budget to avail this very sophisticated machine for security screening purposes and to do away with physically removing the person’s clothes or making any physical contact,” he added.