Gang culture part of a long-standing system in Bilibid

Without a ban on them, gangs have become part of the culture inside the New Bilibid Prison, with one former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) official even saying it is “unavoidable.”

A report on GMA News TV's “Balitanghali” on Thursday said the BuCor does not impose a ban on gangs, and even allows inmates to establish organizations inside prison.

“Hindi maiiwasan 'yan, 'yung tinatawag na psychological security ng tao. Even in school, even in other areas, nagkakaroon ng club,” said former BuCor director Gaudencio Pangilinan.



He added that part of the BuCor operating manual is a "council of elders," which helps officials and personnel inside Bilibid to maintain discipline among inmates, especially since the facility is congested and there is a lack of prison guards.

Gang culture in Bilibid dates as far back as the 1950s, with most of the prisoners taking part in it. A study by Filomin Candaliza-Gutierrez, published on the Philippine Sociological Review in 2012, showed that nine out of 10 inmates are members of a gang.

The study showed that “pangkat” society is prevalent inside Bilibid's Maximum Security Compound, with majority of the 12,669 inmates there then spread among the 12 gangs, which are divided under Sigue Sigue ("presidio side") and OXO ("carcel side").

A mere 347 prisoners were members of some of the "Non-Gang Groups," according to the study, which had no data on other groups considered under the said category, among them former military/police personnel, members of rebel groups, inmates under disciplinary order, and those "infirmed" at the hospital there.

'Rejected, accommodated'

Gutierrez's study found that there are mixed feelings about gangs, which are both "rejected for their violent features" and "accommodated for their pragmatic function," which is to "police their own ranks."

According to JB Sebastian, a gang leader in Bilibid, being a member of an organization gives an inmate a sense of family amid the difficulties of prison life.

"Bilang miyembro ng isang gang at bilang isang bosyo sa 12 taon kong pagkakakulong, pwede kong sabihin na personal na mahirap mamuhay rito nang hindi ka kasama sa isang gang. Para ka kasing ituturing nila dito na isang miyembro ng pamilya -- 'pag nagkasakit ka, may magkakalinga sa'yo," Sebastian told GMA News in an interview.

Trouble among gangs, however, led to some prisoners getting killed.

In 1968, 14 members of the Sigue Sigue gang were sentenced with lifetime imprisonment for killing members of opposing gang OXO in a riot, the report said.

In 2012, Dionisio Dennis Jamores, leader of the Sigue Sigue Sputnik Gang, was shot dead by an "angry" inmate after a dispute over a billiards game.

Money talks

According to Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan, gangs are also linked to the "mafia-like" killings in prison, related to underground drug trade.

"I know at least of two killings of high officials in the NBP. Ang suspicion, they have links with some of the criminal syndicates inside the NBP ... Meron silang hindi natupad na mga usapan," Baraan said in an exclusive interview on “24 Oras” last June.

Money determines who leads inside prison, as well as who gets certain privileges, according to “Balitanghali,” citing sources inside the NBP.

"Pera pera po ang labanan diyan," a source identified only as Importante said, in an interview with GMA News in June.

"'Pag may pera ka, kahit wala kang sakit, pwede kang ilabas. Pero 'yung mga kawawang inmates na dapat ilabas na malulubha na 'yung mga sakit at doon na mismo namamatay sa NBP, hindi mailabas dahil walang pera," he added.

Money has enabled some convicts to put up "extravagant" holding areas, or "kubol," for themselves, where authorities found luxury items, illegal drugs and paraphernalia, and nearly P2 million cash in a surprise inspection on Monday.

On Tuesday, Assistant Director Supt. Celso Bravo, NBP's officer-in-charge of operations, admitted that they allowed the construction of such, since their dormitories, which only have a capacity of 3,000 to 3,500 people, could not sustain their 14,000 inmates.

He clarified, however, that they did not allow the luxury items authorities found there.

Former congressman Romeo Jalosjos, an ex-convict, came to the defense of inmates that owned those kubols, saying rich inmates may put up a decent place to stay in.
He also opposed the dismantling of the holding areas.

"Dapat hindi. If that happens, balik na naman ang gulo sa Bilibid," he said. "You allow a prisoner to rehabilitate himself, and part of that is allowing them to live normally." —Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/KBK, GMA News