SEVENTY-SIX members of the elite PNP-Special Action Force will be deployed to boost security measures at the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, the Bureau of Corrections announced yesterday.
“This move comes in response to ongoing efforts to bolster safety protocols and ensure effective management within the facility,” BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said.
Catapang said he has instructed BuCor Deputy Director General for Operations Gil Torralba to oversee the arrival of the SAF personnel.
Some of the SAF personnel, Catapang said, started arriving yesterday at the 10,000-hectare island prison and penal farm.
“The integration of these highly trained officers aims to further enhance the prison’s security measures, particularly following directives from Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla regarding the transfer of inmates with drug-related convictions to Sablayan,” the BuCor chief added.
The deployment of the SAF came as a joint team dubbed “Task Force Sanib Puersa,” which included members from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the National Bureau of Investigation, and BuCor conducted a successful “greyhound operation within Camp Pasungi inside the Sablayan prison yesterday morning.
Catapang said the operation yielded significant results, with authorities confiscating nine cell phones, tobacco products, several cell phone chargers, and 16 assorted bladed weapons.
It was not the first time the SAF was deployed to assist BuCor in securing its facilities.
During the Duterte administration, a contingent of SAF troopers was also deployed to help secure the New Bilibid Prison and stem illegal activities, including the alleged narcotics trade inside the national penitentiary.
