600 NBP inmates hospitalized due to diarrhea

MANILA— Six hundred out of 900 inmates at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City were brought to the NBP hospital for treatment due to diarrhea outbreak that started last Friday, Bureau of Correction (BuCor) chief Benjamin Delos Santos said on Sunday.

“We have 69 admissions due to loose bowel movement at the NBP hospital and roughly 600 have been seen and attended to,” Delos Santos said adding that the affected inmates were detained at the NBP’s maximum, medium and minimum security compounds and no high-profile inmates were affected.

He said the situation in under control though one elderly inmate from the minimum compound is said to be in critical condition at the NBP hospital.

“He is an elderly inmate from the minimum security compound and has been ill before,” he noted.

Delos Santos said NBP authorities are coordinating with the leaders of each brigade of inmates to ensure cleanliness and prevent the spread of diarrhea.

He said investigation is now ongoing to determine its cause.

“It’s either food or water,” he said though Delos Santos stressed they are still testing it.

The NBP have more than 22,000 inmates detained at the maximum, medium and minimum security compounds.