Visiting hours for Bilibid prisoners extended

THE NEW Bilibid Prison (NBP) has extended the visiting hours for inmates during the holiday season.

Supt. Richard Schwarzkopf, NBP director, said recently that visitors could go to the prison for “processing” for entry as early as 5 a.m.

Before the holidays, visiting hours started at 7 a.m. from Wednesdays to Fridays and at 8 a.m. for the rest of the week.

“Because of the big number of visitors this season, we made the adjustment,” Schwarzkopf said although he did not say when the changes in the visiting schedule would end.

The end of visiting hours, however, remained at 3 p.m. except on days when the inmate’s wife or partner were allowed to stay overnight.

According to Schwarzkopf, visitors were allowed to bring inside the facility a maximum of 3 kilos worth of “pasalubong.”

Since Dec. 24 to Dec. 26, nearly 8,000 people have visited inmates at the NBP.Kristine Felisse Mangunay