Are NBP inmates being punished or pampered?

The first mistake was in allowing rich prisoners to build their own “kubol” in the maximum security compound of the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP). A kubol is supposed to be just a shed, but as we have seen, they have become virtually luxurious prison residences of rich criminals being punished for the crimes they committed. The kubol have air-conditioning and other modern appliances; in the case of an inmate with ambitions to becoming a recording star, his kubol included a stage and musical instruments. Despite being confined in a supposedly maximum security compound, this prisoner is said to have been able to hold concerts in public places outside the prison and even to make recordings of his songs, which were then sold to the public.

“Maximum security compound” and “maximum security prisoner” have lost their meanings in the NBP, thanks to very lax prison rules and, possibly, corrupt prison officials and guards. How can prisoners serving long prison sentences in a “maximum security compound” do all of these things in full view of prison guards? How were they able to bring in all those materials through the prison gates?

It turns out that prison superintendents gave privileged prisoners permission to bring such things as appliances, construction materials, lots of money, drugs, knives and, most alarming, even high-powered guns. Three of the superintendents were relieved of their positions but no charges have been filed against them.

The number of automatic rifles and handguns, found during surprise inspections by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police led by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, was enough for prisoners to stage a revolt inside the prison. The prison compound has been inspected seven times already, but contraband, including guns and knives, keep turning up. Each time, Secretary de Lima gives the prisoners a new deadline to surrender all their contraband, but what good will that do? A prisoner can refuse to surrender anything and nothing will happen to him.

As it is turning out, prisoners surrender only a few pieces of contraband before each deadline—perhaps to keep De Lima happy—but still keep many of them. It is also possible that many more keep coming in through visitors.

It is shocking that high prison officials, including the Bureau of Corrections director, have not visited the maximum security compound in more than a year. So they do not know what is happening in the compound reserved for hardened criminals.

One visit to the maximum security compound would show, all too quickly, the anomaly of it all. There are so many kubol in the compound, with prisoners roaming about freely, such that they seem to constitute a small village outside prison. Are these prisoners being punished or being pampered?

While the kubol of the 19 “very important prisoners” (VIPs) who have been transferred to the NBI compound have been demolished, many others are still standing. And that is where De Lima and her raiding team keep finding contraband.

All those kubol should be demolished, and regular maximum security cells should be built for the prisoners. In the NBP, the divide

between the rich and the poor is clearly visible. The poor prisoners are cramped in crowded cells, while rich prisoners have their own private quarters where they are free to do almost anything.

Transferring the 19 VIPs to the NBI detention cells has not improved the situation much. De Lima’s raiders still keep finding the same contraband—weapons, cell phones and other communication equipment, drugs, money, plenty of them—in the NBI cells. The cells are supposed to be guarded by three sets of guards—from the NBI, from the NBP and from the military. So how were/are(?) the prisoners able to smuggle all those contraband in?

A clue is the bundles of cash found in the cells. The prisoners could have been bribing their guards. Which is a reflection of the quality of the guards and the officers who chose them to guard the VIP convicts.

A new prison is supposed to be built somewhere in Nueva Ecija and the present one in Muntinlupa sold to land developers. But it may not be finished, or even started, under the new administration.

A change in the design of the prison setup is necessary to avoid the same anomalies in the NBP. When the NBP was built decades ago, it was supposed to be among the best prisons in the region. Not anymore. It is now among the worst.

Also, the city jail in Manila, situated beside a market and a crowded residential area, should be transferred somewhere else. The city jail is like a sieve. All sorts of contraband, among them drugs, can be supplied the prisoners from the windows of the residences overlooking the jail compound.

Our prison system needs so many reforms. The question is: Do our officials know what to do?