Cheyenne Suarez

NBI inspects Bilibid prison over 'special treatment' reports

Article (news)

Zyann Ambrosio

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA<strong> (UPDATED) </strong>— The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday conducted a surprise inspection of their custodial facility at the New Bilibid Prison following reports of &quot;special treatment&quot; for some high-profile detainees.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/27/-we-were-shocked-arnolfo-teves-arrested-in-timor-leste-0758">&#x27;We were shocked&#x27;: Arnolfo Teves arrested in Timor-Leste</a></div><p>NBI Director Jaime Santiago said the inspection was done after reports surfaced that ex-lawmaker Arnolfo Teves Jr. was receiving &quot;VIP treatment.&quot;</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1938103394025218052&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-06-26T08%3A16%3A02.700146%3A0a83267a-7873-49a7-b7b0-adb948b7821b%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=5502b1622cec76799d3494720286cf2a5ef989ee&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:624px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1938103394025218052"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>Santiago emphasized no one gets special treatment, including former congressman Arnolfo Teves, who had just been transferred to the Manila city jail. Santiago personally spoke with detainees who confirmed fair treatment.</p><p>“Ayaw daw nila sa NBI dahil may special treatment?! There is no special treatment here! Maraming lumalabas na dito sa NBI may vip treatment sa hi profile cases,</p><p>Pano magkaka vip treatment dito, ang skip na nga dito. Kung ano pagkain ng isa, yun din ang pagkain.walang special treatment na nangyayari,” Santiago said.</p><p>He said he only reminded detention officers to ensure Teves’ safety.</p><p>“Ang bilin ko lang kay WIlmar ay di ma sasakyan si Teves dyan hindi mapa patay lalo na. Ingatan natin mabuti, dudumugin tayo ng taumbayan kung may mangyari diyan,” Santiago added.</p><p>Teves was arrested last month in Timor-Leste and deported back to the Philippines soon after. </p><p>During his visit, Santiago asked the detainees if they have noticed special treatment for certain detainees, to which they replied in the negative.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/2/6/bucor-to-build-prison-facilities-in-northern-and-central-luzon-1625">BuCor to build prison facilities in Northern and Central Luzon</a></div><p>Santiago also inspected the cell of Shiela Guo, the sister of former Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo.</p><p>The capacity of the detention facility is only for 116 but it is currently holding 228.</p><p>More than 80 percent of the BuCor detainees are foreigners, majority of them Chinese, Santiago said. </p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LRnoGJkCnQw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>NBI Director Jaime Santiago said the inspection was done after reports surfaced that ex-lawmaker Arnolfo Teves Jr. was receiving "VIP treatment."</p>

NBI Director Jaime Santiago said the inspection was done after reports surfaced that ex-lawmaker Arnolfo Teves Jr. was receiving "VIP treatment."