Bilibid prisoner in rape try charged

THE NBP has tightened its rules for visitors following the rape attempt on a young girl. Edwin Bacasmas

The inmate accused of attempting to rape an eight-year-old girl inside a toilet at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) on New Year’s Day has been charged with physical injuries and child abuse.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Monday that the prisoner—a convicted robber—was confirmed to be under the influence of illegal drugs when the incident took place.

She described the rape attempt as “unfortunate,” adding that she had spoken with the victim’s parents and told them that they should not have allowed their daughter to leave their sight.

The victim was found unconscious in a toilet at the maximum security compound without her underwear and a rope tied around her neck. She was taken to a hospital where she was revived. A test showed that she had not been raped.

Both the girl’s father and the suspect are inmates at the compound. The victim was visiting her father when she disappeared, only to be found inside the toilet by another prisoner.

De Lima said the Bureau of Corrections had recently implemented a new regulation limiting the visitors of prisoners to just their immediate family. It was adopted after NBP authorities discovered that some visitors who had claimed to be cousins or family friends of some inmates turned out to be entertainers or sex workers.

Meanwhile, the justice secretary Monday said that investigators were looking into the possibility that the money and cell phones found inside the National Bureau of Investigation facility for high-profile prisoners transferred from the NBP had been concealed in food such as lechon (roasted pig).

“During Christmas, they were not allowed visitors, even their families and counsels. But they requested [that] food be brought to the inmates instead and these were probably not inspected somehow. There was reportedly even lechon and other types of food so maybe [the cash and mobile phones] were concealed inside,” she told reporters.

De Lima said that during the inspection of the quarters of the 19 transferred prisoners on Dec. 28 and 29, wads of money totaling P66,000 were found concealed in two cigarette packs. More than P300,000 was also discovered in trash cans while at least two inmates were carrying cell phones.

Head agent Rommel Vallejo of the NBI’s Anti-Organized and Transnational Crimes Division was leading the probe, De Lima said, adding that the investigation would focus on how the items got inside the extension facility and who served as the prisoners’ accomplices.

She added that she would take “positive action” against those found liable.