Almost 1,000 Bilibid PDLs transferred to Iwahig, Sablayan –BuCor

Almost 1,000 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) were transferred to penal farms, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said Tuesday.

BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said they transferred 997 PDLs to the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan and the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro.

“Sa Iwahig, 497. Sa Sablayan, 500. This includes all the drug lords na mga Chinese drug lords,” he said in a briefing at the Department of Justice.

(From Iwahig, 497. From Sablayan, 500.)

He hoped there would be no more PDLs at the NBP by 2028.

Kubols

Meanwhile, Catapang said the BuCor dismantled 2,812 makeshift rooms or “kubols” at the NBP.

“So ang ginawa natin is tinaggal natin lahat ‘yung mga dingding para kita sila. And then, hopefully, malagyan na rin natin ng CCTV para sa ganon nakikita natin kung anong ginagawa nila, even if they are inside their cubicles,” Catapang said.

(So, what we did was remove all the walls so we can see them. And then, hopefully, we can place security cameras so we can see what they are doing.)

He said that with the removal, the PDLs are now being monitored and unable to conduct illegal activities.

“This will help a lot sa... improve the safety and security of the PDLs,” he said.

Catapang in August ordered PDLs to dismantle their kubols in all prison facilities in the country as part of the agency’s crackdown on contraband inside prison cells.

Trading post

Catapang, meanwhile, said BuCor would also join the Department of Agriculture in putting up a Kadiwa center or trading post at the NBP, which they will call the “Pambansang Bentahan.”

“Kasi ang gagawin namin… maglalagay kami ng office na training area for those retailer na gusto nilang bumili ng mas murang wholesale price. Parang trading post, no,” he said.

(What we are going to do... we will place a training area and office for those retailers who wish to buy produce at a cheaper wholesale price, like a trading post.)

“And at the same time, ‘yung 300 hectares ng BuCor which will be made available by 2028 for commercial purposes,” he added.

The Director General previously said he was looking to turn the BuCor headquarters in Muntinlupa into a "Global City." — DVM, GMA Integrated News