Lawyer’s complaint: ‘Bilibid VIPs’ diet down to ‘lugaw,’ hotdog, ‘bangus’

If their lawyer is to be believed, the National Bureau of Investigation jail compound must be the cruelest place.

“They are suffering there. They complain of lack of nutrition because they were only being fed lugaw (congee) and a piece of hotdog for breakfast and a slice of bangus and rice for dinner or lunch,” said Ferdinand Topacio, legal counsel of four of the 19 high-profile inmates recently transferred to the NBI from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

Topacio was speaking for a group of moneyed convicts, mostly drug lords, whose kubol or living spaces in the NBP yielded imported food items and liquor, along with high-end appliances, communication and even studio recording equipment, when raided by the NBI in mid-December. Follow-up raids continued to yield contraband, including guns, cash and logbooks, indicating that the inmates were still able to do criminal transactions with outside contacts while serving time.

The lawyer, who represents convicts Noel Martinez, Hernan Agojo, Michael Chua and Willy Sy, has since questioned the legality of the transfer ordered by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

Seeing them for the first time since the NBI rendered them incommunicado, Topacio said his clients and the others were being kept in a “subhuman environment.’’ Their quarters have a TV set and an air-conditioning unit, but the cool air covers “only a portion and the entire place is still very hot; they are being tortured mentally.”

He noted that the place also lacks an area where a lawyer and a client could talk privately.

Meanwhile, Bilibid officials on Thursday lifted the ban on visitors at the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa City, which was imposed following the NBI raids.

Bureau of Corrections Director Franklin Jesus Bucayu said “limited visitation” privileges had been restored, which means only the inmates’ immediate family members and lawyers are allowed to see them.

NBP Officer in Charge Supt. Richard Schwarzkopf said family members are allowed from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. only on Saturdays and Sundays. Previously, visitors were allowed Wednesdays to Sundays.