The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has mobilized anew its personnel in the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City and in all its prison farms nationwide to guard against the entry and use of cellular telephones and similar gadgets by persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
BuCor Deputy Director Gabriel P. Chaclag said on Friday, April 2, the directive to personnel is a standard operating procedure since telephones and mobile gadgets are prohibited inside detention cells and inmates are not allowed to use them.
Last March 27, Herbert Colanggo, a convicted leader of a robbery group, was able to upload a video on YouTube and claimed his life is in danger.
Colanggo, who was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to life in prison, is a witness in the illegal drugs trading cases filed against Sen. Leila M. de Lima.
From the NBP, he was transferred to the detention facility at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City together with other witnesses.
In his YouTube post, Colanggo claimed that he and his group would be transferred back to the Maximum Security Compound of NBP.
He also claimed that he will come out with an additional affidavit that would detail other things about the De Lima case which he failed to bring out during a congressional investigation.
“There is already an ongoing investigation why the PDL (Person Deprived of Liberty) was able to use a gadget while in fact, that is forbidden,” Chaclag said Thursday afternoon, April 1.
“As to his whining…, he should have made a manifestation through his lawyer instead of taking it to YouTube,” he said.
At the same time, Chaclag said it has been a policy to regularly change personnel guarding the inmates.
“It is a normal procedure to implement a sound rotation policy on the deployment of personnel to avoid over-familiarity with the situation that might lead to laxity and negligence,” he explained.
When Metro Manila and its adjacent provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite and Rizal were placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) until April 4, BuCor banned the entry of food and other items for PDLs.
“With due respect, the Bureau of Corrections maintains that the temporary suspension of delivery of items inside its facilities is in line with the provisions of the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) Guidelines,” BuCor Chief Superintendent Victor Erick L. Pascua said on Thursday, April 1.