Bilibid building for high-profile inmates reopens

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Bilibid building for high-profile inmates reopens
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima says she wanted to completely disable the inmates from continuing with their illegal acts inside the prison compound

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice reopened on Wednesday, July 15, the renovated Building 14 of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City to serve as a “high security complex” for high-profile inmates.

The building, whose renovation cost at least P30 million, will now have high technology security measures so jail authorities can monitor the inmates better.

“Nilagyan ‘yan at lalagyan pa ng additional security equipment ang mga detention cells, may CCTV cameras at jammers din at absolutely prohibited ang cellular phones and other communication devices at sisiguraduhin namin na ang jammers will really work,” said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima during the building’s inauguration.

(We have already installed security equipment in their detention cells, and we will add more. We have also installed CCTV cameras and jammers. Cellular phones are absolutely prohibited as well as other communication devices and we will make sure that jammers will really work.)

De Lima said that she wanted to completely disable the inmates from continuing with their illegal acts.

The renovation of the building was done after operatives of the Department of Justice raided it late last year, exposing that inmates had access to illegal drugs, firearms, large amounts of cash, and state-of-the-art luxuries within their “kubols” (shelters).

This led to the temporary transfer of 19 high-risk inmates to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) detention facility in Manila.

De Lima also asked the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Philippine National Police, and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to identify the inmates who still have the capacity to run their businesses while inside prison.

“The moment we finalize the list, we can start transferring them [to Building 14], according to how high-risk their statuses are,” De Lima said, adding that they will focus first on those convicted for drug trafficking. 

The building, which used to house death row inmates, has a total of 29 detention cells for 58 high-risk inmates. – Rappler.com

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