New Bilibid Prison

The Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee will try to determine security breaches, and why or how crimes are committed inside and outside of the maximum security compound of the National Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa city.

The committee, chaired by Senator Francis ‘’Tol’’ Tolentino, will also attempt to find out whether prisoners are allowed to ‘’escape’ only to commit crimes outside as ‘’guns for hire’’ and later return under ‘’mysterious’’ circumstances and escape from the claws of the law.

The probe, to be held Tuesday, Aug.22, was triggered by a NBP’s security breach where bodies of slain prisoners were reportedly thrown into a sceptic tank.

Interest in the ‘’sceptic tank’ case was heightened following the arrest in Rizal province of Michael Cataroja, an NBP inmate or person deprived of liberty (PDL). What was found in the sceptic tank was a chicken bone, not Cataroja’s body.

Cataroja reportedly escaped last July 7 but NBP records reportedly showed that he was reported missing only last July 15, Tolentino said during a DWIZ radio interview Saturday, Aug. 18.

Tolentino said the alleged use of the NBP sceptic tank as disposal of slain prisoners was a mere distraction.

He said his committee probe might led to recommendations to transfer high-profile prisoners from the NBP to the Iwahig penal farm and Sablayan in Mindoro for minimum security prisoners.

There are over 10,000 PDLs jam-packed inside the NBP.

Their daily meal allowance is a measly P70.

The committee will also deal with Very Important Presos (VIPs) and gang system inside the compound.

Tolentino said his committee would also try to study previous researches of the academe on prison reforms.