BuCor urged to probe missing P6-M inmates’ trust fund
MANILA, Philippines — Advocacy groups on Wednesday called for an investigation and the filing of charges against those behind the reported loss of P6 million from a trust fund containing money sent by the families of inmates at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City.
“Even behind bars, women aren’t spared from falling victim to a corrupt government,” Cora Agovida, deputy secretary general of women’s group Gabriela and head of the Free Our Sisters, Free Ourselves campaign for women political prisoners (WPPs), said in a statement.
Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainee Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (Selda) vice chair Danilo dela Fuenta also said the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) should investigate its erring personnel, file the necessary charges and demand that they return the money they took.
At the same time, LAYA, which is campaigning for the freedom of all political prisoners, urged the Commission on Human Rights, justice department and other agencies concerned to conduct a thorough investigation.
System of corruption
“Every cent counts and the fact is P6 million is missing at the hands of CIW personnel. This mirrors the bigger system of corruption in other government offices,” Laya spokesperson Amanda Echanis said in a statement.
“While poor Filipino people are easily put in jail, plunderers in government remain in power. Accountability must be upheld,” she added.
READ: BuCor, BJMP personnel behind sneaking contrabands into Bilibid — Catapang
On Tuesday, BuCor said the two CIW officers responsible for handling the funds had been relieved. It identified them as Corrections Senior Supt. Daisy Sevilla-Castillote, the prison facility’s superintendent and Corrections Senior Supt. Marites Lebardo, the deputy superintendent for administration.
Both were directed to report to the Office of the Deputy Director General for Administration at BuCor’s national headquarters in Muntinlupa City.
The bureau, on the other hand, has asked the city police for help in finding Corrections Officer 2 Bianca Ramos, who handled the trust fund. She has been on unauthorized leave since July 29.
“If it is true that there are missing funds amounting to about P6 million, this did not happen overnight. We need to get to the bottom of this and hold those accountable in their proper place,” BuCor director general Gregorio Pio Catapang said in a statement.
READ: Jail guards keep part of money sent to inmates, says BuCor chief
Agovida, a former political detainee, said the missing funds were supposed to help persons deprived of liberty buy basic necessities that the government failed to provide.
These include a regular supply of sanitary napkins, she said, citing reports from WPPs at the CIW and other jails.
Unsafe water supply
Drinking water is also reportedly insufficient, with CIW inmates forced to buy water from the facility’s cooperative, Agovida added.
In some provincial jails like the one in Iloilo City, even the water for cleaning and bathing is supposedly unclean, leaving PDLs with no choice but to buy water for their basic sanitation needs.
