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DOJ to impose moratorium on entry of new inmates to Bilibid

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Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News

<h2>NBP inmates sign manifesto of support for Catapang</h2><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt=" The New Bilibid Prison in this photo taken on November 14, 2022. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/07/28/20221114-bucor-117th-anniversary-jc4446.jpg"/><figcaption>The New Bilibid Prison in this photo taken on November 14, 2022. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — The Department of Justice is set to impose a moratorium on the entry of new inmates or persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), after a series of incidents these past few days.“We’re putting a moratorium on the entry of new prisoners to the NBP compound. We will just bring them to other jails, other prisons available,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla told reporters at a press conference at the DOJ Friday.The moratorium was to take effect immediately although Remulla said he still needed to write a letter to Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Catapang, Jr. “I will write to the Director General so that he can tell the courts that it is already a policy of the DOJ not to bring anybody else into the NBP,” he said.It is the courts that issue a commitment order instructing authorities to bring a PDL to a specific jail or detention facility.Once sentenced, a PDL is normally sent to serve time at a BuCor facility, which includes the NBP.But Remulla said there was a need to address congestion at the national penitentiary, which he blamed for a string of recent incidents.On July 25, a fight between 2 PDLs from different gangs ended with another inmate firing a gun that injured of 9 PDL.Another inmate, meanwhile, was found dead due to an ice pick wound.On July 26, the BuCor announced efforts to retrieve the body of a missing PDL. During the search, a small bone was recovered from the septic tank at the Bilibid. Remulla on Wednesday initially confirmed the discovery of a decapitated body from a septic tank at the NBP, only to later clarify that the decapitated body was found in an area managed by the Sputnik Gang.The NBP, which has 33 buildings and sits on a 255-hectare in Muntinlupa, was built to house only 6,435 inmates. But as of December 2021, the penitentiary has 28,642 PDLs or a congestion rate of 345 percent.“It’s the way the prison system runs. Its subculture, its motivation, its history and everything else that influences the people inside. And you’re talking about 30,000 cramped in one space. So what can you conclude from that? We really have a problem here,” Remulla said.The Justice chief said that for the time being, 6 other BuCor jails are available for newly-sentenced inmates, such as those in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro; San Ramon in Zamboanga City and the Davao Penal and Farm Colony.He added that the DOJ is also talking to the Department of the Interior and Local Government to use some provincial jails for those whose sentences are below 6 years. “We will stop increasing the population in the NBP. Mababawasan yan pero hindi na yan madadagdagan. ‘Yan na ang pressure na binibigay sa sarili namin para mabawasan na ang congestion tsaka para mabawasan na yung inculturation ng mga taong bago. Ilalagay mo lang sa loob ng isang lugar na parang…napakahirap talagang ispellingin,” he said.(The NBP population will no longer increase. That&#x27;s the pressure we&#x27;re giving ourselves to ease congestion and address the inculturation of new inmates.) “[A]ng point of view namin dito simple lang — wag muna i-inculturate sa isang masamang kultura ‘yung taong pwede namang iiwas mo. Let’s try to spare them from the travails of having to go through an institution like the New Bilibid Prison,” he added.(Our point of view here is simple, don&#x27;t expose a person to a bad culture if you can.)Dr. Raymund Narag, criminology and criminal justice professor at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale and a DOJ consultant on prison reforms said the culture inside the NBP could be described as “criminogenic” or tending to produce crimes or criminals.Part of this can be blamed, he said, on structural and organizational issues. Due to deficiencies in resources, PDLs form their own organizations inside with their own subcultures, he noted. To address this, he echoed Remulla’s plan to regionalize jails with more manageable populations. “Ang hirap mong i-manage ang isang very overcrowded, dilapidated, outmoded prison complex in the world,” he said.(It is very difficult to manage an overcrowded, dilapidated, outmoded prison complex.)In an earlier press conference Thursday, Remulla said the DOJ was talking to some local government units to host regional jails.But he said efforts to immediately transfer maximum security inmates to a Sablayan prison in Occidental Mindoro could not be immediately done because talks with the Department of Public Works and Highways bogged down.Another plan to transfer minimum security PDLs to the unused megadrug rehab facility in Nueva Ecija, he said, would not push through yet because the Department of Health said they needed the facility. Talks with the military, which runs Fort Magsaysay where the facility is located, also bogged down.The BuCor on Thursday lifted a <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/26/23/bilibid-under-red-alert-after-prison-fight-leaves-1-dead">red alert</a> status that it imposed due to the recent Bilibid incidents. “Back to normal na tayo. There’s nothing to worry about. The situation has been contained and wala na tayong threat na magkakaroon pa ng gulo. Under control na lahat,” he said after his meeting with Remulla at the DOJ Friday. (We are back to normal. There is no longer any threat of violence. Everything is under control.)The PDL who fired the gun, he said, had been identified and charges would be filed against him. Two guns were surrendered and under examination. He said these guns were smuggled inside the NBP before his term.Meanwhile, Catapang said the inmate who allegedly killed a PDL with an icepick was identified by his gang and would hopefully be surrendered to authorities soon.Despite the lifting of the red alert status, the prisons chief said they would continue to prohibit jail visits due to ongoing excavations inside the NBP in a bid to identify “mass graves.”<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/28/23/more-mass-graves-may-be-inside-bilibid-remulla">More mass graves may be inside Bilibid, says Remulla</a></li></ul>Remulla earlier said there were possible mass graves inside Bilibid based on “oral history” of inmates who talked to the authorities.“Baka next week pwede na yung visit. Alam mo, ayaw ko naman yung privileges nila naku-curtail. And of course, maganda na rin yung panahon,” the BuCor chief said.(Perhaps visits will resume next week. I do not want to curtain privileges. The weather is also expected to improve by then.)Catapang also said they were eyeing more personnel, even as they removed 30 personnel from their post as a result of the recent incidents. About 1,000 personnel are being evaluated if they know their jobs.“Nagpapadagdag ako ng poste ng gwardiya. Then iilawan na natin yan, tuwing gabi. And then may nagroroving na rin. Dodoblehin natin mga gwardiya para sa ganun, nakikita yung disposition. Pag nagkukumpulan sila sa isang lugar, kailangang idi-disperse sila. So yun ang mga immediate na pwedeng gawin,” he said.(We will double the guards. We will immediately disperse inmates who are grouped together.)<div> MANIFESTO OF SUPPORT</div>Catapang said he was puzzled by the string of incidents after 9 months of relative quiet at the NBP.“‘Yung insidente, pinag-aaralan ko. Bahala Na Gang at Batang City Jail ang nagkaproblema dun sa paglalaro ng bilyar. E may nagpaputok galing sa Batang Cebu. Parang gusto silang pag-awayin or whatever. Yun yung mga malalalim na pinag-aaralan pa namin na sinabi ko kanina kay Secretary. Sabi niya, put it under wraps. Sa akin, ang tingin ko, it’s a challenge to my leadership. May mga tao dyan na ayaw nila ako mag-succeed,” he surmised.(Someone seems to want the 2 gangs to fight. We are studying that. The Secretary said we should keep it under wraps. I think someone does not want me to succeed.)He cited reforms he initiated when he took office, such as prohibiting jail wardens or superintendents from running a commissary. “Sa pagkain araw-araw na P70, di ka talaga mabubuhay. So inopen up ko. Sige, kayo na magtayo ng comissary. Yung dati kasi, yung superitendent dyan, magpapasok ng kontrabando worth 400,000. Ang balik nun, 4M kada buwan,” he said.Catapang bared 7,500 cans of beer were sold at P1,000 per can, while high-end liquors were sold at P15,000 and P25,000 each.In a manifesto released by BuCor Friday afternoon, officers of the NBP Liga ng Barangay and 11 barangay chairmen expressed support for Catapang and his head executive assistant Angelina Bautista.“Inalis nila ang mga mapagsamantalang empleyado ng BUCOR dahil sa talamak na panghihingi sa mga preso ng pera at wasakin ang corruption na ginagawa nila dito sa loob ng Maximum Security Compound. Ang mga abusadong empleyado ng BUCOR ay kanilang inilipat at kanilang dinisiplina upang muling makaharap sa mga preso at mga tao na may integridad,” it said.“Alam naman po natin na sa kabila ng kanilang kabutihan may mga tao o ibang PDL pa rin na nais maghasik ng kaguluhan dito sa maximum security compound na kung iyong iisipin talaga ay plano at gawa gawa ng mga taong naninira at gustong makaupo sa pwesto. Iyan po ang hinihingi namin ng paumanhin sa aming butihing Director at mahal na Executive Assistant to the Director General na sa naganap na pangyayari noong nagdaang araw at pagkamatay ng isa naming kasamahan at pagkasugat ng ilang PDL,” it added.

The DOJ is set to impose a moratorium on the entry of new inmates or persons deprived of liberty to the New Bilibid Prison.

DOJ to impose moratorium on entry of new inmates to Bilibid

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DOJ to impose moratorium on entry of new inmates to Bilibid

Mike Navallo,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 28, 2023 05:47 PM PHT

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