Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi said the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) did not get a permit and make proper coordination with the city government when it built a wall on a road inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) Reservation in Bgy. Poblacion, Muntinlupa Friday night.
BuCor erected a concrete wall on a road that served as a main access point to the city proper of residents of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Katarungan Village 1 and 2 housing projects, and students and teachers of Muntinlupa National High School-Main and Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa, which are adjacent to the village.
Residents demolished the wall hours after it was built, and on Saturday morning, an excavator was used to dig the road.
Last March, BuCor, citing security reasons, also built a wall on Insular Prison Road in NBP, closing the main access point of the residents of the government’s Southville 3 housing project to the city proper.
Because of this, Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon sent a letter to President Rodrigo Duterte. Malacañang referred the letter to the DOJ which told Biazon that under Republic Act 10575 or the BuCor Modernization Law, BuCor has the “absolute authority” in the supervision of lands it owns.
He filed a resolution with the House of Representatives which held a committee hearing about the issue.
In a letter to Fresnedi last March, BuCor Director General Gerald Bantag said part of the safekeeping of prisoners “is security which ensures that inmates are completely incapacitated from further committing criminal acts, and have been totally cut off from their criminal networks (or contact in the free society).”
“Security also includes protection against illegal organized armed groups which have the capacity of launching an attack on any prison camp of the national penitentiary to rescue their convicted comrade or forcibly amass firearms issued to Corrections Officers,” he added.
He said allowing the use of the Insular Prison Road “puts the safety and well-being of the public in danger. It is a wrong public policy to continue a dangerous practice of letting the public pass through the middle of a supposedly high security risk prison compound.”
Here is Mayor Fresnedi’s full statement regarding the closure of the road leading to Katarungan Village 1 and 2:
“Walang permit at koordinasyon sa Pamahalaang Lungsod, Pamahalaang Barangay ng Poblacion, at mga residente ng Katarungan Village 1 and 2 ang itinayong pader ng Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).
“Napakaraming residente ang mawawalan ng daan papunta sa bayan dahil sa ginawa nilang harang. Mawawalan din ng access pati mga guro at mag-aaral ng Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa at Muntinlupa National High School.
“Pa-traydor na itinayo ang pader sa gitna ng gabi. Ano po ba talaga ang pakay at patagong itinatayo ang mga ito?
“Kagabi ay agad na nagpunta sa binakurang lugar si Congressman Ruffy Biazon, City Administrator Allan Cachuela at Department Heads ng Pamahalaang Lungsod, pati na rin si Kap. Allen Ampaya at mga kagawad ng Brgy. Poblacion, para kausapin ang pamunuan ng Bucor.
“Pinatitigil ang pagtatayo ng pader dahil kahit aplikasyon sa fencing permit ay hindi naman kumuha ang BuCor. Iligal ang inilagay nilang harang.
“Hindi nakinig ang BuCor sa paulit-ulit na paliwanag. Matapos ang ilang oras, mismong mga residente ang gumawa ng hakbang upang alisin ang harang.
“Hindi ito unang beses na ginawa ng BuCor. Dumaan tayo sa proseso ng pakikipag-usap sa kanila. Kaliwa’t kanan ang apila. Sumulat sa Malacañang, sa Justice Department at nagsagawa pa ng hearing sa Kongreso ang Justice Committee. Nagpasa rin ng resolusyon ang Sangguniang Panglungsod.
“Kaya ngayong araw ay nagpatawag ako ng agarang pagpupulong para pag-usapan kung anong legal action ang maaaring gawin ukol sa pagbubukas ng kalsada.
“Ang ginawang pagharang ng BuCor sa daan ay hindi lamang pagwawalang bahala sa Lokal na Pamahalaan kung hindi malinaw na kawalang respeto sa karapatan ng mga Muntinlupeño.
“Hindi po rito magtatapos ito.”