The immediate decongestion and regionalization of the New Bilibid Prison will be a concrete solution against syndicates – especially those involved in illegal drugs – still operating inside the national penitentiary, Senator Robinhood Padilla said.
Padilla, a former inmate of the national penitentiary, lamented that the New Bilibid Prison remains a den for bad people, especially after drug lords were incarcerated there.
Also, the legislator stressed anew the need for regionalization to help the rehabilitation of inmates by making it easier for their families and loved ones to visit them.
“Amoy sindikato kaming lahat dahil punong puno na ang selda. Ang selda dapat nasa 40 lang pero lumalabas doon 80 kami.”
“Isa po itong kongkretong solusyon sa problema unang una, ng sobrang population ng bilanggo sa NBP. Dapat diyan ay nasa 5,000 lang yata o 4,000. Noong panahon namin nasa 12,000 kami diyan. Naalala ko pa ho noon ‘pag sa gabi ang kalahati matutulog ang kalahati nakaupo, ‘yan noong panahon namin sa kulungan. At amoy sindikato kaming lahat dahil punong puno na ang selda. Ang selda dapat nasa 40 lang pero lumalabas doon 80 kami,” the lawmaker said in his interpellation of the 2023 budget of the Department of Justice.
“Nang nagdatingan diyan ang mga drug lords, doon na po nagkagulo-gulo. Nawala na po ang tinatawag naming batas sa loob ng kulungan.”
“Noong panahon namin, ang mga gang (sa loob ng Bilibid) ay may prinsipyo. Kami po ay may sinusunod na batas at ang mga batas pong ‘yan talagang nadidisiplina po namin ang mga kapatid naming bilanggo. Pero nang nagdatingan diyan ang mga drug lords, doon na po nagkagulo-gulo. Nawala na po ang tinatawag naming batas sa loob ng kulungan,” the senator added.
Senate finance committee chairman Sonny Angara noted the DOJ will include programs for the regionalization of prisons in its 2024 budget as it continues to study the issues involved – but stressed the DOJ agrees with Padilla.
Meanwhile, Padilla noted that if the prisons are regionalized, it will be easier for families of inmates to visit them, thus helping in the rehabilitation process.
One of his first bills involved the regionalization of Bilibid to address the problem of decongestion and to ensure that inmates are visited by their loved ones.
“Ang sinasabi nating BuCor (Bureau of Corrections) mahirap i-correct ang taong may problema sa pamilya. Ang Number 1 solution para ma-rehab ang isang bilanggo yung kasama niya ang kanyang pamilya,” Padilla concluded.
