NBP must tighten policies following riot: DOJ

MANILA – The New Bilibid Prison (NBP) must review possible changes in its policies after the recent riot that killed an inmate and injured 64 others.

Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Thursday he does not have the full report yet on the Tuesday violence at the maximum security compound during an “Oplan Galugad”.

The riot allegedly started when two inmates engaged in a scuffle.

“We’ll act after we have read the full report,” Guevarra told newsmen.

One of the measures is the removal of tattoos of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) so that their affiliations or gangs will not be identified.

“We already directed the BuCor (Bureau of Corrections) months ago to take the appropriate measures to prevent these violent incidents. One of the things that the bureau did was to order the PDLs to remove body tattoos showing their gang affiliation,” Guevarra said.

He said Oplan Galugad will continue as prison officials must make sure prohibited items, particularly weapons and illegal drugs, are confiscated.

“But it seems that the proliferation of improvised weapons has not abated,” he added.

In October last year, a riot claimed the lives of nine PDLs, followed by another one in November where four died.