BuCor seizes 400 bladed, blunt weapons in Bilibid search after deadly riot

The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) seized more than 400 hidden bladed and blunt weapons in two buildings at the New Bilibid Prison days after deadly violence erupted between two gangs. 

BuCor officers led by Director General Gerald Bantag and police forces searched Buildings 5 and 8 Monday afternoon following "persistent intelligence reports" that bladed items were being stored there for use as weapons by "violent members" of the Sputnik and Commando gangs, the bureau said. 

A "free-for-all scuffle" between members of the two gangs in the early hours of October 9 resulted in the death of nine inmates. Seven others were injured. 

Photos from the BuCor showed that authorities confiscated objects like saws, hammers, crowbars, and wooden rods. They were hidden in inmates' cells, temporary shelters, and some were buried in the ground, the bureau said. 

"This search operation is a strong message delivered to these two groups creating violations and distraction inside the prison camp that such criminal behaviors and activities need to be stopped at all cost," the BuCor said. 

The bureau added that Bantag talked to the gang leaders again and said they assured the corrections chief that the brawl will never be repeated. 

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has ordered both the BuCor and the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the riot. 

He said the BuCor gave him a partial report Monday describing the incident but that he told them to "investigate more thoroughly."

"What I want to know is how such a violent incident could happen in the wee hours of the morning and last for hours, and why the prison authorities failed to detect and prevent such a huge gang war that left many inmates dead or injured," Guevarra said.

The NBI, meanwhile, started its investigation Monday. —KG/RSJ, GMA News