Bato Dela Rosa brings ‘anti-tambay’ drive to Bilibid

Former police chief and now Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Dir. Gen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa has brought the controversial anti-“tambay” (loiterers) drive to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to curb the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the jail.

Dela Rosa said on Monday he had imposed a 10 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. curfew at the NBP to control illegal drug trade that has allegedly plagued the jail for years.

“Ginawa ko yan dahil alam natin na yung kalakaran ng droga nangyayari sa gabi,” Dela Rosa said in a chance interview with reporters at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

(I implemented that because we know that drug trade happens at night.)

“Ang ginawa ko para malimit natin yung drug activities sa loob ng prison camps, 10 o’clock I implement lights off, yung tops sa military. Walang galawan, walang magloloiter, pwedeng higa lahat. Authorized lang sila gumising pag 4:30 ng umaga,” he added.

(So what I did to limit the drug activities inside prison camps, 10 o’clock, I implement lights off, the tops in the military. No one can move, loiter around, all should be lying around. They are just authorized to wake up at 4:30 in the morning.)

Dela Rosa, who assumed as BuCor chief in April, said drug trade remains a problem in the national penitentiary.

He cited an instance when a drug lord inmate pretended to be deranged so he can be admitted to ward 4 for mentally-ill patients, where he continued his illegal drug activities.

Dela Rosa said there was also an instance when a visitor reportedly tried to smuggle drugs into the prison by wrapping it with a condom and inserting it into her vagina.

He said they address the lingering issues by implementing the Oplan Ukay-Ukay where Special Action Force (SAF) troops conduct surprise inspections.

He said when SAF took over the national penitentiary, drug trade was reduced to about 50 percent and further decreased to 20 percent when he took office.  /vvp