Thirty-two years since Jessica Soho first visited the New Bilibid Prison, the correctional facility still faces the same old problems inside its walls.
In an episode of “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho,” the veteran broadcast journalist returned to Bilibid to see the conditions of the inmates following the controversies surrounding the prison.
Over 160 unclaimed cadavers of inmates are currently piled at Eastern Funeral Services, which was discovered during the probe into the killing of the journalist Percy Lapid.
The confessed gunman alleged that the middleman who contacted him was a Bilibid inmate, who later died inside the prison due to asphyxiation.
According to Charlie Bucane, manager of Eastern Funeral, they keep the unclaimed bodies for 90 days, after which the BuCor takes them for burial. This is usually the case, but the cadavers piled when the facility failed to clear them in October and November.
This is only one of the issues currently revolving around Bilibid. Congestion remains a huge problem – the facility can hold 6,000 inmates, but it currently houses over 30,000 or five times its capacity.
The kitchen at the Maximum Security Prison prepares food for 17,600 people per day and cooks 46 sacks of rice per meal. Inmates have a meal allowance of P70 per day, up from the P20 back in the 90s.
Some VIP inmates have also formed their own groups or gangs. According to retired general Gregorio Catapang Jr., the new officer-in-charge of the Bureau of Corrections, nowadays it is more apt to call them barangays.
Contraband items also abound – authorities found beer inside – which points to collusion involving the guards.
Another issue involving the BuCor is the discovery of an excavation site inside Bilibid, which suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag said is for a swimming pool project. He denied claims that it was done to build a supposed escape tunnel.
Asked what kind of penal system the Philippines has with all these issues, Catapang did not mince his words.
“Lubog na lubog. Wasak na wasak o sirang-sira kaya ito ang challenge sa akin ngayon. You really have to decongest the place and then segregating kasi iyung rapist natutong maging adik, iyung adik natutong maging drug lord. Parang naging university iyung prison cell. Paghihiwalayin mo iyan,” he said.
(“It’s rock bottom. It’s really in tatters so this is the challenge for me now. You really have to decongest the place and then segregate, because the rapist learned how to be a drug addict, the addict learned how to be a drug lord. The prison cell became like a university. You have to separate them from each other.”)
Catapang said the problems in Bilibid are complicated and finding solutions will not be easy. But he remains hopeful that reform is possible.
“Of course may pag-asa!”
(“Of course, there is hope!”)
Catapang said structural changes will have to be made to solve the issues in Bilibid. Building a heinous crime facility in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao is a possible step towards decongesting the prison. Technology will also be tapped to find contraband and identify colluding guards.
Despite the many issues in Bilibid, Catapang said he will be compassionate towards the inmates.
“I will understand iyung kanilang sitwasyon kung paano sila nagkamali na sila eh ididiin mo sila. Malay mo magbago saka that’s not the way to deal with them.”
(“I will understand their situation, how they made a mistake and not push them down. Who knows, they might have changed their ways.”)
—MGP, GMA Integrated News
Old problems remain in Bilibid as Jessica Soho visits again after 32 years
Source: Balita News
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