Prostitution, kidnap for ransom among illegal schemes inside Bilibid —ex-BuCor official

Prostitution, kidnap for ransom and gambling are just among the many money-making schemes of high-profile inmates at the New Bilibid Prison in connivance with NBP and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officials, a former official told a Senate inquiry on Thursday.

Testifying at the resumption of the Senate investigation on alleged corruption inside the BuCor, former BuCor officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos said each prostitute — termed "tilapia" by the inmates — cost P30,000 per night during his tenure.

“Marami pong unusual transactions sa maximum Security. Mga tilapia, nakakapagpasok sila diyan ng babae, para sa mga high profile inmates. Enjoy sila roon,” said Ragos, who was BuCor OIC from November 2012 to March 2013.

“Dancers, entertainers, after a while nagiging girlfriend, asawa. P30,000 [ang rate]. Magdamag,” he added.

Ragos also claimed convicted drug lord Peter Co frequently received female visitors. “May mga dumadalaw kay Peter Co, hindi ko alam kung girlfriend o asawa,” he said.

Another scheme, Ragos said, is that high-profile inmates tip the police on who to kidnap for ransom. He said the release of these victims, which include wealthy Chinese nationals, is negotiated among inmates and the police.

“Ipapakidnap po, ang negotiation sa loob, mga P200,000 [kada nakidnap],” Ragos said.

As for gambling, Ragos said that the BuCor directors are being paid to P800,000 a month to tolerate the activity.

Also at the same hearing, lawyer Fredric Santos, chief of BuCor's legal division, admitted there is corruption in the national penitentiary, citing as an example "unholy alliances" between prisoners and prison guards that form in the context of what he said was an "intense" code of silence.

"Nababayaran po lahat," said Santos under questioning by Senator Richard Gordon, who asked him to say in a sentence if everything could be bought within the bureau.

Santos, who is one of BuCor officers ordered suspended by the Ombudsman for six months, described an instance of petty corruption, in which a "keeper," or an officer who watches over prisoners in shifts, may spot an inmate drinking or using a cellphone.

NBI agent Jovencio Ablen, Jr., for his part, said illegal activities in the NBP results in P300,000 to P500,000 a week earning for top prison officials.

The Senate panel is probing the alleged existence of "hospital stay for sale" scheme in the national penitentiary. —KBK, GMA News