The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has found no indications of foul play in the deaths of high-profile inmates at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City since the start of the pandemic, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said on Tuesday, April 13.
(Jonathan Hicap / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Guevarra cited the NBI reports, including that on the death last March 27 at the NBP of convicted rapist and murderer former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio L. Sanchez.
“The NBI has not found any evidence so far that any foul play was involved in the deaths of certain high-profile PDLs (persons deprived of liberty), including former mayor Sanchez of Calauan,” Guevarra said.
Aside from Sanchez, convicted high-profile carjacker Raymond Dominguez passed away last Feb. 19 at the NBP due to natural causes.
Last year, there were 27 NBP inmates who died after catching the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Among them were Jaybee Sebastian, Amin Imam Boratong, Eugene Ho Chua, Francis Go, Benjamin Marcelo, Sherwin Sanchez, Willy Yang, Shuli Lim Zhang, and Hung Kin Sing also known as Jimmy Ang.
Convicted Chinese drug financier Calvin Tan also died after getting attacked in one of the two riots that took place at the NBP last year.
Both the NBI and the BuCor also conducted investigations to determine what sparked the two riots.
“The explanation was something more or less expected. A long-standing rivalry ignited by a rather flimsy encounter,” said Guevarra. He said there had been no riots since then.
“The BuCor has taken several measures like removing gang tattoos and frequent searches for improvised weapons,” he said.
As of now, “efforts are heavily focused on containing the spread of COVID-19,” he added.