De Lima orders Mindoro prison chief’s relief

MANILA, Philippines–Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Tuesday she had ordered the relief of the superintendent of the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro following the National Bureau of Investigation’s arrest of a convict and a guard in a drug bust outside the facility last week.

De Lima said Supt. Resurrecion Puno would also undergo an administrative investigation.

“Heads will have to roll. Someone or some people will have to be made accountable for this (incident),” the justice secretary told reporters.

Last Friday, convicted drug lord Ruben Tiu was arrested after handing about a kilogram of shabu to NBI agents posing as buyers on a highway two kilometers from the prison. Tiu was allegedly escorted by a prison guard identified as Ahrbe Duron.

De Lima said she wanted to know how Tiu was able to continue peddling drugs while in prison and why he was allowed to leave the facility.

She said the guard could not have escorted the convict without the knowledge or involvement of high prison officials.

The Sablayan complex is one of the seven prisons run by the Bureau of Corrections, which is under the administrative supervision of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Tiu and Duron were brought to Manila and charged in the DOJ for violation of Sections 5 and 26 of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

Duron was additionally charged with violation of Article 223 of the Revised Penal Code for infidelity in the custody of prisoners.

NBI Director Virgilio Mendez said the arresting agents also rejected an alleged attempt by Tiu to bribe them with P15 million in return for bringing him back to Sablayan and not reporting the incident.

According to Mendez, Tiu confessed during interrogation that he received his supply of shabu from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City, where convicted drug lords were found to be still plying their illegal trade.

The NBI in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies raided the NBP in Muntinlupa City and discovered the lavish lifestyles enjoyed by some high profile inmates.–Jerome Aning and Julie M. Aurelio