Special treatment given to certain Bilibid jailbirds ‘unacceptable’ – Lacierda

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang described as “unacceptable” Wednesday the extravagant and unrestrained treatment extended to “very important prisoners” at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.

The Palace vowed to “undertake all measures (to) ensure that these things would not happen again.”

“The conditions that we found in the Bilibid are really unacceptable. Those things should never have been there in the first place. The existence of all these contraband is not allowed in the first place,” Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters.

But the President’s spokesman could not yet say if Bureau of Corrections chief Franklin Bucayu would lose his job following the discovery of banned items and structures in the prison compound.

Bucayu was part of the team that planned the raid, which was led by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

Besides guns, cash and high-end appliances, the raiding team had unusual discoveries such as a life-size sex doll, bath tub with jacuzzi, sauna, and closed-circuit television cameras. The inmates also had computers and Wi-Fi connections that allowed some of them to continue their illegal drugs business from within the prison.

Convicted robber Herbert Colangco also had a 60-square-meter music studio in his living quarters, replete with airconditioning units.