Hontiveros amused at how COVID-19 struck 9 drug lords in 'one blow'

Senator Risa Hontiveros expressed disbelief on Wednesday that nine high-profile inmates at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) have been wiped out by COVID-19 all at once.

"Siguraduhin nating hindi tayo naglolokohan. Ang galing naman mag-target ng  COVID: nine drug lords in ONE BLOW?" Hontiveros said in a Twitter post.

"Alam natin na may korapsyon sa loob ng [Bureau of Corrections], tulad ng 'Good Conduct Time Allowance for Sale’ at kung anu-ano pang money-making schemes. Along with the seemingly secretive disposal of the bodies, this is enough to make us doubt," she added.

Earlier in the day, the opposition senator filed a resolution seeking a Senate investigation on the deaths of the Bilibid inmates—a similar step made by Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

BuCor chief Gerald Bantag on Monday confirmed that 21 inmates have already died due to COVID-19 at the NBP, nine of whom were high-profile.

However, he refused to name them as he invoked the Data Privacy Act—an excuse debunked by several senators and even by National Privacy Commission Chairman and Commissioner Raymund Liboro.

Senator Leila de Lima has pointed out that the big-time inmates, including drug lords, are isolated from the rest of the prison population, making them less likely susceptible to catching the virus compared to others.

"Their population does not exceed 50, they have their own separate cells, and access to their quarters is much more restricted than those of ordinary maximum and medium security prisoners," De Lima said.

"It is incredible that those in Bldg. 14 have an unusually higher infection and death rate than ordinary prisoners in maximum and medium security compounds," she added.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra already ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter.

Senator Richard Gordon, who chairs the Blue Ribbon Committee, advised Bantag to take a leave of absence while the investigation is ongoing. -MDM, GMA News