THERE was little reaction, neither from the traditional media, social media or the public, when newly confirmed Interior Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla Jr. announced that the “number one source of the drug trade is apparently still inside Muntinlupa,” meaning the New Bilibid Prison in that southern city of Metro Manila.
Secretary Remulla said the Marcos administration’s campaign against illegal drugs would focus on the supply side, the bulk of which comes from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
“This time we are going heavy on the supply side,” the DILG secretary told reporters. One of the proactive measures that the NBP is taking is to transfer high-value prisoners and set up a maximum security facility elsewhere in the country. The NBP is run and supervised by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) of the Department of Justice which is headed by another Remulla, Secretary Jesus Crispin, the DILG secretary’s brother.
‘Catapang’s new directive might help a little in putting pressure on drug dealers and syndicates inside the prison…’
It may be recalled that illegal drugs proliferated in Bilibid allegedly during the term of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, despite her sincere efforts to stave off its surge, in pursuance of the anti-drugs and criminality campaigns of former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino.
It has been 16 years since — six years of Aquino, six years of President Rodrigo Duterte, and two years of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and where are we now? Remulla’s confirmation on the status of drugs in Bilibid smacks of déjà vu — the nation is still in the quagmire of illegal drugs trade, making its players who dance around with whoever holds power richer and richer by the day.
A top-level meeting was held in Malacañang recently, during which the President said some 200 high-profile prisoners are suspected to be still involved in the drugs trade, using of course cellphones and modern gadgets, personal visits, and other physical means of communication. This information was gathered by the intelligence community and shared by Marcos with meeting attendees who are officials of the DILG, DOJ, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Several of these high-profile inmates are due for transfer from the Bilibid to regional correctional facilities, among them in Palawan and Rizal. In September last year, the Bureau of Corrections admitted to the Senate committee on justice and human rights that the New Bilibid Prison was not “drug-free,” saying that inmates have been using different ways to smuggle illegal drugs into the facility.
Last week, BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. ordered all superintendents of the Office of Prisoners and Penal Farms (OPPFs) to ban all cellphones in these places. The order applies to all commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, civilian personnel, visitors, and other individuals entering the premises of the BuCor offices, NBP camps, and all OPPFs.
Catapang’s new directive might help a little in putting pressure on drug dealers and syndicates inside the prison, although the transfer of inmates to other maximum-security facilities outside of Metro Manila would be more desirable.
The cellphone ban may be seen as arbitrary by some, but it is needed to fight the drug menace not only in Bilibid but also in the whole country.
