Deliberate poisoning of 900 NBP inmates possible — Aguirre

The New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa. INQUIRER FILE

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Monday said that there was a possibility that the food poisoning that downed almost 900 inmates from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) was deliberate.

“Investigation is already being conducted to know what really happened and what is the cause–was it the food or water? Why and how,” Aguirre said.

The justice chief ordered the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to closely monitor the situation and to ensure that the situation was under control.

Almost 900 inmates at the NBP were affected by a diarrhea outbreak that started Friday.

BuCor chief Benjamin Delos Santos said of the inmates affected, about 600 were brought to the NBP hospital for treatment.

“We have 69 admissions due to loose bowel movement at the NBP hospital and roughly 600 have been seen and attended to,” Delos Santos said.

The affected inmates were detained at the NBP’s maximum, medium and minimum security compounds.

No high-profile inmates were affected, the BuCor chief added.

De los Santos said they were not ruling out the possibility that the inmates were deliberately poisoned.

“But proximate cause is food served Thursday night. We shall be conducting food and water testing at main kitchen,” De los Santos said in a text message.

Because of the incident, one is in critical condition at the NBP hospital.

“He is an elderly inmate from the minimum security compound and has been ill before,” he said.

He said the NBP authorities were coordinating with the leaders of each brigades of inmates to ensure cleanliness and prevent the spread of diarrhea. CBB/rga