Sacked NBP chief asked to dispute administrative charges

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila De Lima ordered former New Bilibid Prisons Chief Superintendent Ramon Reyes to explain why he should not be administratively charged for the grenade blast inside the prison compound last Friday.

In a 2-page memorandum, De Lima gave the sacked prison chief 72 hours to explain in writing why he should not be charged with grave neglect of duties and conduct prejudicial to the service.

At the same time, Reyes was asked to explain why during his surprise raid inside the Maximum Security Compound, they only confiscated cheap phones and few bladed weapons which is a stark contrast to the items seized by the National Bureau of Investigation during its surprise raid of the same area.

“I am dismayed and angry at the state of affairs in the maximum security compound. How could the raiders during the first raid (Nov. 16 led by Reyes) not see those contrabands,” De Lima said in a statement.

“Judging from the sharp contrast in yield of prohibited items in two surprise raids which are only a few days apart, one can only suspect of a systematic culture of corruption pervading in the compound,” she said.

During the second raid, the NBI seized the following items:

-2 Nokia N8 cellular phones
– 2 Nokia E7 cellular phones
– 1 Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0
– 1 HTC cellular phone
– 1 GE cellular phone
– 1 Apple IPad 64 gb
– 2 Apple IPhone 4s cellular phones
– 1 Nokia C7 cellular phone
– 1 Nokia 1208 cellular phone
– 2 units IPhone 4s battery enhancer
– 8 pieces Apple IPhone battery chargers
– 5 pieces Jabra earphone battery charges
– 3 pieces Nokia battery charges
– 1 piece HTC battery charger
– 1 piece LAN cable
– 1 piece Samsung Galaxy battery charger
– 1 piece improvised deadly weapon
– 1 piece headset
– 1 unit Mobile Intercom
– 1 piece Wi-tribe USB broadband
– 1 piece Globe USB broadband
– 1 piece USB
– 1 piece HP USB
–  3 pieces Micro SD cards
– 2 TM SIM cards (unused)
– 1 Globe SIM card (used)
– assorted cables
– 1 bottle Johnnie Walker Blue Label half-filled
– 1 unit Tenda wi-fi router
– 1 unit Wi-Tribe broadband
– 1 piece LAN cable
– 4 assorted chargers
– 1 aluminum foil strip with traces of suspected illegal drugs
– 1 unit mobile signal booster/repeater
– 6 pieces Tsing Tao beer
– 1 pack scientific grade marine salt
– 1 pack rock salt
– 4 pieces light bulb sockets with bulbs
– 1 unit CCTC camera
– 1 pack 14mm electrical wire
– 1 unit split type air-conditioner
– 3 pocket notebooks with numerical annotations
– 1 Steno notebook with numerical annotations
– 2 pieces lighters
– 10 pieces of aluminum foil strip with traces of suspected illegal drugs
– 3 pieces improvised tooters
– 1 piece improvised water pipe
– 2 pieces pin for improvised burners
– 1 piece improvised burner
– assorted cellular phone chargers
– 1 set mobile signal booster accessory
– 1 bottle Johnnie Walker Black Label
– 1 bottle Royal Salute
– 1 piece cellular phone charger
– P55,620 in different denominations

The police is still investigating the grenade blast that injured six inmates.