Remulla: BuCor eyes cutting communication lines in Bilibid in next 30 days

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday said the Bureau of Corrections is considering cutting all communication lines inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in the next 30 days.

“Lahat ng correction institutions sa buong mundo, bawal talaga ang telepono. Sa Pilipinas lang nakakalusot yan eh. Kaya ngayon, meron kaming wino-work out na plano ni General Catapang tungkol dito at you will see it within the next 30 days. Meron kaming pinaplano na i-implement dito para nga sa communication sa loob,” Remulla said in an interview with reporters.

(In all the correctional institutions in the world, phones are not allowed. it's only in the Philippines that they can slip through. This is why we are working out a plan with General Catapang and you will see it in the next 30 days. We are planning to implement something for communications inside.)

He mentioned the latest seizure of computers, Wi-Fi hotspots, and telephones inside the national penitentiary.

"Everybody knows that the drug trade...is there in the Bilibid kaya we're doing something about it," Remulla said.

"I was promised that before by the old leadership na wala na raw telepono [that there wouldn't be phones] but I think that we're taken for a ride," he added.

Remulla said that when they were investigating the killing of broadcast journalist Percy Lapid, they found out that the communications were being done through Facebook Messenger.

The BuCor has been in the spotlight over controversies cited in testimonies that a prisoner from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) allegedly ordered the killing of Lapid.

Recently, the BuCor presented assorted contraband seized inside the facility, including knives, guns, cellphones, drugs, and around 7,500 cans of beer.

During the plenary debates on the DOJ's budget for 2023, the BuCor  committed to introduce significant reforms within the agency in four months.

Remulla also said that he is discussing a possible reevaluation of BuCor personnel with the agency's current officer-in-charge, Gregorio Catapang Jr.

He said some of them have a "sense of entitlement" and they are eyeing to send these personnel to different camps outside.

"We have to reorient them...We have to change the people watching over this whole system kasi kung lumang tao rin, lumang tugtugin din 'yan [because these people have been there a long time, it's an old refrain]. It's a very radical plan. We have to rethink the way we run our prisoners," he said.

"We will be very, very strict, kaya nga we have to reorient the people...We will try to check kung sino talaga ang pwede magtrabaho nang honest kasi napakahirap nitong ginagawa natin [who can work honestly because this job we're doing is really difficult]," he added.

Remulla said he is not promising 100 percent success but they will do everything to succeed.

The Justice secretary said they might offer early retirement when asked if there are BuCor personnel who might be removed from their posts after they conduct their reevaluation. — BM, GMA Integrated News