Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. has revealed some new devious tactics being used to smuggle illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) such as pigeons and condoms.
Catapang revealed this at the continuation of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights' hearing on the reported mass graves inside the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP), led by Sen. Francis Tolentino on Thursday, September 7.
Catapang said that while he cannot assure that repacking of shabu does not exist inside the NBP, he stated these new methods are being done to smuggle such contraband inside.
"Ang pinaka-latest po Mr. Chair ay yung mga kalapati. Yung mga bisita nila may dalang itlog i-incubate doon so after so many months, mapipisa tapos palalakihin tuturuan yung mga kalapati maglilipad-lipad doon sa paikot (The most latest scheme involved pigeons. The visitors will bring eggs that will be incubated in NBP and after so many months will hatch. As they grow up, they're taught to fly around the facility)," the BuCor chief explained.
"Pagdating naman nung mga bisita nila ibibigay yung kalapati tapos matututo nang bumalik doon sa kanilang mga pugad (When their visitors return, the pigeons will be given to them and they have already learned to fly back to NBP)," he added.
Catapang was also asked regarding a video wherein inmates were supposedly repacking shabu inside the BuCor premises. He refuted this, and said that it's not possible for huge blocks of shabu to get inside.
He mentioned, however, that what may evade their inspections is shabu placed inside condoms.
"Yung condom, nilalagay po doon yung shabu tapos ilalagay po sa pwerta ng mga babae eh hindi naman po namin pwede kapkapan yung mga babae makakasuhan naman kami ng human rights (Shabu is placed inside the condom and then shoved inside a woman's private part but we cannot frisk them because we may be charged in violation of human rights)," Catapang said.
During his report, Catapang said that they have confiscated 200 grams of shabu worth P2 million yet they will continue their search to find more since they keep confiscating illegal drugs from the inmates. He also acknowledged that the NBP is not drug-free still.
The hearing is part of the discovery of alleged mass graves found inside the NBP compound along the septic tanks.
Nestor Castro of the University of the Philippines (UP) Department of Anthropology revealed during the hearing that based on their findings there were no traces of human remains from the septic tanks.
Suspicion that NBP’s septic tanks could be mass graves arose during the search for NBP’s person deprived of liberty Michael Angelo Cataroja who was suspected to have been killed and the body dumped into one of the septic tanks.