Bilibid down to 10 docs for 21,000 inmates

MANILA, Philippines–Following the relief of two of its doctors, the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) will just have 10 physicians looking after its 21,000 inmates.

On Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered the dismissal of Dr. Gloria Achazo-Garcia, acting head of the NBP hospital, and medical specialist Dr. Ma. Cecilia Villanueva after they approved the confinement of convicted drug lord Ricardo Camata in a private hospital in Tondo, Manila, from May 28 to June 2.

The footage taken by a security camera at Metropolitan Medical Center, however, showed Camata in good health as he roamed the corridor outside his room and even entertained visitors who included starlet Krista Miller and two unidentified females.

Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan earlier said that only inmates with life-threatening conditions would be referred to hospitals outside the NBP but upon securing a clearance from the DOJ.

In a phone interview, Bureau of Corrections spokesman Celso Bravo said that NBP officials would have to discuss possible solutions to the lack of doctors at the prison hospital.

“The relieved doctors may be temporarily reassigned to BuCor’s satellite camps until the DOJ investigation is resolved,” Bravo told the Inquirer.

He noted that with the two doctors’ dismissal, there would be just 10 physicians left to look after the 21,000 inmates staying at the minimum, medium and maximum security compounds.

Of the 10 doctors assigned at the NBP hospital, which has a 500-bed capacity, one was on loan to the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga. Bravo said that the doctor would be recalled to Muntinlupa in a week or two.

“[The BuCor] is currently in the process of recruiting two doctors,” Bravo told the Inquirer, adding that they had posted a wanted ad even before the DOJ relieved Garci and Villanueva.