Bilibid, Women’s jail must be far from residential areas: PDEA

FILE: The New Bilibid Prison (NBP) and the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) must be transferred to an area far from communities, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino said. (Photo: PDEA)

MANILA — The New Bilibid Prison (NBP) and the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) must be transferred to an area far from communities, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino said.

Aquino said the current location of these facilities, which are within informal settler areas, makes entry of illegal drugs in these prison houses easier.

NBP is located at Muntinlupa City while the CIW is located in Mandaluiyong, both being under the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

“The (current) location is not ideal place. Sa top view puro squatter paligid tapon lang shabu, pasok na sa preso. (The) jail facility dapat tayo sa far-flung area. Ngayon, pagpasok mo sa loob parang pareho din sa labas CIW pareho lang sa labas at loob parang NBP parang community din ang dating at parang hindi kulungan (From the top view, a squatters’ area surrounds the place. Anyone can just throw shabu inside the jail. The jail facility must be in a far-flung area. Now, when you enter, it’s the same with CIW, it looks the same inside and outside just like the NBP, which looks like a community and not a jail.) , ” Aquino told reporters in a recent press conference.

“To stop the proliferation of drugs inside the jail facility, we should build a ideal facility both men and women in remote area in Nueva Ecija which is adjacent. This is the only way,” he added.

Pushing through with the earlier plan of constructing a mega-prison facility in Nueva Ecija is suggested by PDEA to the President to resolve the concern of detainee’s growing number along with illegal drug issue.

Aquino admitted that billions of pesos should is needed for this kind of facility .

He said that on November 14, PDEA will sign a memorandum of agreement with BuCor establishing 24-hour anti-drug station with canine conducting regular greyhound operation to counter drug proliferation in both NBP and CIW.

“Next week, for the meantime, I will put up an office with canine para may 24 hour PDEA visibility (so that there will be a 24-hour PDEA visibility), perform regular greyhound operation and to finally stop drug proliferation at NBP and CIW. November 14 Tuesday (is the) formal MOA signing (between) Bucor and PDEA,” Aquino said

It can be recalled, the PDEA and BuCor operatives seized PHP15.4 million worth of methamphetamine hydrocloride also known as ‘shabu’ from a Taiwanese mother and her daughter in separate operations.

Aquino identified the suspects as Yuk Lai Yu, with aliases Yuk Lai Sze and Anna Sy Balmeo, 72, an inmate of Correctional Institution for Women (CIW), Mandaluyong City since 2000 for drug charges; and her daughter Diana Yu Uy, 40.

Operatives of PDEA Special Enforcement Service (PDEA-SES), National Capital Region Police Office (PNP-NCRPO) and BuCor conducted a greyhound operation against the older Yu’s detention cell.

The same operating unit arrested Diana Yu during the implementation of a search warrant in Unit 3D, 3rd floor, Jy J Condominium, No. 867 General Solano Street, San Miguel, Manila were seized two kilos of suspected shabu worth PHP10 million were confiscated during the operation.

In July 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the probe of drug resurgence in NBP and CIW even after the deployment of Special Action Force (SAF) troopers tasked to stop access of illegal drugs in the bilibid prison.

Republic Act 10575 or the Bureau of Correctional modernization was enacted in 2013 to address the inequivalent ration of prison facilities to number of detainees.