BuCor addressing 'rampant' drug sale in Bilibid — De Lima

Even before reports on the spread of illegal drugs at the New Bilibid Prison came out, the Bureau of Corrections has already started instituting measures to prevent the "rampant" trade of contraband in the facility, Justice Secretary Leila de De Lima said Tuesday. At a news briefing, De Lima said that BuCor head Ernesto Diokno has submitted to her a confidential report on the problems hounding the national penitentiary even before he took over the helm of the agency in September last year. De Lima said these include the proliferation of drug use, drug trafficking, prostitution, gambling, manufacture and sale of liquor, and graft and corruption. The BuCor, an attached agency of the Department of Justice (DOJ), supervises operations at the New Bilibid Prison. "In the interest of transparency, according to the report, even before General Diokno assumed leadership of the BuCor and the supervision of the NBP compound, there was rampant sale and use of drugs. That constrained General Diokno to undertake certain measures," said De Lima. Stamping out the drug problem De Lima said these steps include preventing BuCor employees who are not on duty from entering Bilibid premises. She added that ex-convicts will also be barred from visiting the compound. "The series of [the sale] of contraband involve ex-convicts, so visits by ex-convicts will be prohibited," said De Lima. De Lima also said that there will be "strict and close monitoring" of high-profile prisoners, such as convicted drug lords who are staying in the same area in Bilibid. There will also be random drug tests on BuCor personnel who are supposedly in connivance with Bilibid inmates. There will also be random raids to confiscate contraband like drugs and weapons. At a raid over the weekend, De Lima said the following items were seized: jewelry, cash, cell phone, laptops, bladed weapons, air conditioning units, refrigerators, and cameras. De Lima said that interestingly, illegal drugs were not confiscated. Past administration blamed De Lima said the problem on illegal drugs have been prevalent even before Diokno was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III as BuCor head in September last year. Last week, television network TV5 aired a report showing a footage of inmates having "pot sessions" inside the New Bilibid Prison compound. On Tuesday, De Lima said the DOJ will look into allegations that the footage was taken before Diokno assumed leadership and was only released publicly by former BuCor officers to discredit Diokno. "[There are reports that] the pot session was taken before and ang may pakana niyan ay yung dating officers na pinalitan na (the people behind the release of the footage are former officers who were replaced)," said De Lima. — RSJ/KBK, GMA News