Bilibid pets not spared

After seizing 11 spiders kept in bottles last month, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) personnel who conducted another raid on Tuesday to rid the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) of contraband, including weapons, found two caged doves and a Siamese cat.

Supt. Richard Schwarzkopf Jr., NBP director, said the doves  were discovered in Buildings 5 and 9 of Quadrant 4 of the maximum security compound.

“They were the inmates’ pets but we confiscated them anyway,” said Schwarzkopf who recently had to deal with another controversy—the Dec. 27 escape of murder convict Reynaldo Avergonzado from the 587-hectare facility in Muntinlupa City. The NBP is more than 10 times bigger than the area covered by Rizal Park (58 hectares) and almost 24 times bigger than the Quezon Memorial Circle.

According to a three-page report sent to Schwarzkopf’s office, an aquarium was also seized during the four-hour raid that started at 5 a.m. although there was no word on whether it contained fish.

Also confiscated were 34 cell phones, 81 bladed weapons, 12 TV sets, a chest freezer, 19 batons, 40 speakers, 23 DVD players, pornographic videos, three water heaters, three LPG tanks, 13 tires, a bike and Christmas lights, among other items.

“There weren’t any firearms or drugs unlike in previous searches. The raids are a big complement to our efforts of ridding the facility of contraband,” Schwarzkopf said.

According to him, the operations will continue in line with the directive of BuCor Director General Rainier Cruz III. The raid, the 11th to be conducted since November, was carried out by around 250 bureau personnel.

Charges are set to be filed against the inmates from whom the prohibited items were seized.