THE Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) yesterday said 5,890 inmates convicted of drug-related cases detained at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City and other prison facilities will be transferred to a “supermax” facility at the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (SPPF) in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.
BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said the drug convicts will join high-profile inmates relocated to the facility.
Catapang said the transfer of the high-profile persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) to the SPPF started in July last year.
BuCor data showed there are 246 high-profile inmates serving their prison sentences in the SPPF. These include 134 Chinese nationals, 78 Filipinos, 20 Taiwanese, seven from Hong Kong, three from South Korea, two Iranians and one each from Canada and Nigeria.
Catapang said he has provided the inter-agency task force “Sanib Pwersa” with a list of the 5,890 inmates who will be transferred to the SPPF.
“This afternoon, 100 inmates convicted of drug offenses would be moved from NBP to Pasugui sub-colony in SPPF, with another 200 expected within the week, and an additional 300 scheduled to be relocated before the month’s end,” he said.
The BuCor had previously announced it is building a P445 million-worth detention facility in SPPF to house heinous crime inmates.
The SPPF has a total land area of more than 8,000 hectares, making it an ideal facility to build additional prison facilities.
Last week, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla directed Catapang to speed up the transfer of high-profile inmates convicted of drug-related offenses jailed at the NBP after Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said that the national penitentiary remains the main source of illegal drugs trade.
Catapang said 200 members of the PNP Special Action Force will be deployed at SPPF to augment the BuCor personnel guarding the facility to ensure that the transferred inmates will their communication with their cohorts outside of prison is cutoff.
