Jail bosses deceive de Lima Told riots to happen over ‘kubol’ By Jimmy Pilapil, Correspondent IT was not true that the 12,000 inmates at New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila) threatened to stage deadly riots inside the maximum security compound if Justice Secretary Leila de Lima would not halt demolition of “kubols” or huts inside NBP, the national penitentiary. Truth was corrupt NBP and Bureau of Corrections officials had succeeded in making de Lima believe that ordinary convicts were against the dismantling of the kubols set up by Chinese drug lords. As a result, the Justice chief on Thursday ordered NBP guards to stop tearing the kubols down and ordered NBP Superintendent Ramon Reyes to submit a report within a week on how to dismantle the huts without risking a backlash from the inmates. On Tuesday, de Lima inspected the national penitentiary and ordered prison guards to destroy the kubols upon seeing with her own eyes the cubicles of the Chinese drug lords enjoying amenities of a regular ritzy abode complete with appliances in the kitchen, dinning area, living room with electric fans and air-conditioning unit while poor convicts are cramped in a small hot area. She was accompanied by members of the House justice panel who were trying to figure out how homicide convict and former Gov. Jose Antonio Leviste of Batangas was able to get out of his prison cell without proper permit from NBP authorities on May 18. “The (Justice) secretary was tricked by the corrupt officials. These scalawags have no other choice but to do everything to stop the demolition of the kubols or else they will suffer the repercussions— either these Chinese drug lords will stop the ‘parating’ (grease money) or ‘ikakanta’ nila king sino-sino sa mga opisyal ang tumatanggap ng limpak-limpak na pera (they will divulge the identities of the officials receiving money from them in exchange for the privileges),” an informant from the office of the Bureau of Corrections director’s office told The Manila Times. The source said that the inmates were in fact happy while witnessing the prison guards dismantle the kubols inside the 13 buildings of the maximum security camp also on Tuesday. “The poor inmates were very happy because they would be treated equally (with the huts gone). In fact, they wanted these cubicles demolished to give them more room inside the building,” the informant added. The source clarified that what the ordinary inmates wanted not to be dismantled were the kubols made from nipa and bamboo set up outside the buildings. “These huts are very important for the ordinary inmates because they are where they stay to escape from the excruciating heat inside the buildings,” the informant said. Easier said than done Early morning of Thursday, de Lima admitted that dismantling the kubols of the drug lords inside NBP was easier said than done. She was quoted to have said that it was “an operational nightmare” to dismantle the huts because prison “gangs” manage and maintain them. “This is an operational nightmare. Aside from the large number of houses set up, we learned that the local gangs manage the kubol system in the compound,” de Lima told a radio interview. Reports said that the Justice chief met with the leaders of the gangs, who expressed objection to the demolition of the cubicles. “The corrupt NBP officials are manipulating all of these. They are afraid of the Chinese drug lords who might spill the beans on them. Corruption is displayed with impunity that even a Justice secretary can fall victim to their machinations,” said the source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the subject. NBP officials also admitted during Tuesday’s congressional hearing conducted at NBP, that rich inmates, particularly the Chinese drug lords, use their own money to build the kubols. It was also an open secret that these drug lords could not just build their ‘huts unless they coughed out huge sums to get permission from their gang leaders, the overseer (the civilian employee of NBP) and officials of NBP and the corrections bureau. When asked to name the corrupt NBP and bureau officials who deceived de Lima, the informant refused to answer, except saying that these few officials are easy to identify. The Justice secretary also on Thursday said that she was pushing for a drug-free penal system in the country. During a press conference, de Lima vowed to do everything to stop the drug menace inside NBP. “I told them (NBP authorities) I want this institution to be drug-free. I will do everything within my power to stop this problem,” she said. De Lima added that she would hold officials accountable for allowing prisoners to use cellular phones, whichshe said could be used in their drug transactions. With report from Jomar Canlas

Jail bosses deceive de Lima

Told riots to happen over ‘kubol’
By Jimmy Pilapil, Correspondent
IT was not true that the 12,000 inmates at New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila) threatened to stage deadly riots inside the maximum security compound if Justice Secretary Leila de Lima would not halt demolition of “kubols” or huts inside NBP, the national penitentiary.
Truth was corrupt NBP and Bureau of Corrections officials had succeeded in making de Lima believe that ordinary convicts were against the dismantling of the kubols set up by Chinese drug lords.
As a result, the Justice chief on Thursday ordered NBP guards to stop tearing the kubols down and ordered NBP Superintendent Ramon Reyes to submit a report within a week on how to dismantle the huts without risking a backlash from the inmates.
On Tuesday, de Lima inspected the national penitentiary and ordered prison guards to destroy the kubols upon seeing with her own eyes the cubicles of the Chinese drug lords enjoying amenities of a regular ritzy abode complete with appliances in the kitchen, dinning area, living room with electric fans and air-conditioning unit while poor convicts are cramped in a small hot area.
She was accompanied by members of the House justice panel who were trying to figure out how homicide convict and former Gov. Jose Antonio Leviste of Batangas was able to get out of his prison cell without proper permit from NBP authorities on May 18.
“The (Justice) secretary was tricked by the corrupt officials. These scalawags have no other choice but to do everything to stop the demolition of the kubols or else they will suffer the repercussions— either these Chinese drug lords will stop the ‘parating’ (grease money) or ‘ikakanta’ nila king sino-sino sa mga opisyal ang tumatanggap ng limpak-limpak na pera (they will divulge the identities of the officials receiving money from them in exchange for the privileges),” an informant from the office of the Bureau of Corrections director’s office told The Manila Times.
The source said that the inmates were in fact happy while witnessing the prison guards dismantle the kubols inside the 13 buildings of the maximum security camp also on Tuesday.
“The poor inmates were very happy because they would be treated equally (with the huts gone). In fact, they wanted these cubicles demolished to give them more room inside the building,” the informant added.
The source clarified that what the ordinary inmates wanted not to be dismantled were the kubols made from nipa and bamboo set up outside the buildings.
“These huts are very important for the ordinary inmates because they are where they stay to escape from the excruciating heat inside the buildings,” the informant said.
Easier said than done
Early morning of Thursday, de Lima admitted that dismantling the kubols of the drug lords inside NBP was easier said than done.
She was quoted to have said that it was “an operational nightmare” to dismantle the huts because prison “gangs” manage and maintain them.
“This is an operational nightmare. Aside from the large number of houses set up, we learned that the local gangs manage the kubol system in the compound,” de Lima told a radio interview.
Reports said that the Justice chief met with the leaders of the gangs, who expressed objection to the demolition of the cubicles.
“The corrupt NBP officials are manipulating all of these. They are afraid of the Chinese drug lords who might spill the beans on them.
Corruption is displayed with impunity that even a Justice secretary can fall victim to their machinations,” said the source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the subject.
NBP officials also admitted during Tuesday’s congressional hearing conducted at NBP, that rich inmates, particularly the Chinese drug lords, use their own money to build the kubols.
It was also an open secret that these drug lords could not just build their ‘huts unless they coughed out huge sums to get permission from their gang leaders, the overseer (the civilian employee of NBP) and officials of NBP and the corrections bureau.
When asked to name the corrupt NBP and bureau officials who deceived de Lima, the informant refused to answer, except saying that these few officials are easy to identify.
The Justice secretary also on Thursday said that she was pushing for a drug-free penal system in the country.
During a press conference, de Lima vowed to do everything to stop the drug menace inside NBP.
“I told them (NBP authorities) I want this institution to be drug-free. I will do everything within my power to stop this problem,” she said.
De Lima added that she would hold officials accountable for allowing prisoners to use cellular phones, whichshe said could be used in their drug transactions.
With report from Jomar Canlas

Lawyer of Hacienda Luisita farmers, nominated for Ombudsman post

May 16, 2011

Lawyer of Hacienda Luisita farmers, nominated for Ombudsman post
By Jaime Pilapil

The lawyer of a group of farmers of Hacienda Luisita has been nominated on Monday for the post of Ombudsman before the Judicial Bar Council.

Marlon Juliano Manuel, 41, currently executive director of Ateneo de Manila University-based Alternative Law Groups (ALG), a coalition of twenty non-government organizations in the Philippines that adhere to the principles and values of alternative or social development-oriented law practice, was nominated to replaced resigned Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

Supporters of Manuel trooped to the JBC secretariat at the Supreme Court office on Padre Faura Street, Manila in the morning to beat the deadline of the submission of nominations.

In separate letters to the JBC, former Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) undersecretary Hector Soliman and noted constitutionalist Christian Monsod pushed for the appointment of d Manuel, saying the latter’s experience as human rights lawyer and his “passion for justice” make him deserving to be the next Ombudsman.

“The underperformance of the Office of the Ombudsman, in its critical task of being the people’s champion against anything illegal, improper, unjust or inefficient in government, is largely due to the fact that the appointing power invariably looks only at the legal credentials of the nominees,” said Monsod.

“Marlon has honed his skills over the years in the area of litigation, having appeared in all levels of judicial and quasi-judicial tribunals, including the Supreme Court. He combines practical skillss in the courtroom with his academic knowledge as a professor of constitutional law,” added Soliman.

Manuel, a 5th placer in 1994 Bar exam, is currently the national coordinator of ALG aside from teaching law at the college of laws of Ateneo de Manila University and the University of Sto. Tomas.

He finished law at Ateneo de Manila University School of Law Juris Doctor in 1994. He was second honors, an Evelio Javier Leadership awardee for having been elected president of the Ateneo Law Student Council (1993-1994).

He also also took his undergraduate at Ateneo de Manila University, College of Arts and Sciences 1990, major in Legal Management and a dean’s lister. He graduated salutorian in high school at St. Augustine College in Baliuag, Bulacan; an honorable mention in elementary at St. Mary’s Academy also in Baliuag, Bulacan.

“He is a bar topnotcher, professor of law, public interest litigator, justice educator, good governance & justice reform advocate, human rights defender, organizational and project management expert, regional and international worker, author. He is an embodiment of competence, probity an integrity. An independent Ombudsman starts with Marlon J. Manuel,” said Raymond Salas of the Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN), where Manuel spent 10 years as executive director after a brief stint as associate of the SyCip Salazar Hernandez and Gatmaitan law offices.

Manuel, 41, is a fellow of the Social Weather Stations (SWS), a non-stock, non-profit, social research organization. He is also curretly the lead counsel of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association.

Since 1996, he has gained one and a half decades of experience in social justice and human rights lawyering.

Among the most notable cases that Manuel has handled were the public interest cases against Executive Order 464, Proclamation 1017; the attempt to change the 1987 Constitution, where he had the opportunity to speak before the Supreme Court during the respective oral arguments of the three cases; the case involving the farmers of Sumilao, Bukidnon, where he served as one of the farmers’ lead counsel.

He is also at present a partner at Dellosa Mendoza Bag-ao and Manuel (DMBM) law firm.

He is currently a member of the executive committee of Legal Network for Truthful Elections.

Manuel had been consistently involved in public interest cases, representing vulnerable and marginalized groups, such as workers, farmers, women, indigenous peoples and local communities.

In 2000, he acted as counsel for a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations (POs) that challenged the constitutionality of a provision in the year 2000 General Appropriations Act which placed P10 Billion of the local governments’ Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) under “Unprogrammed Funds”. In an en banc decision that was rendered in 2005 (ACORD v. Zamora, G.R. No. 144256), the Supreme Court granted the petition and declared the Year 2000 GAA unconstitutional insofar as it set apart P10 Billion of the IRA as “Unprogrammed Funds”.

In 2007 and 2008, Manuel was involved as one of the lawyers of the farmers of Sumilao, Bukidnon, who challenged San Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) ownership of a 144 hectare land that had earlier been given to the farmers under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Manuel is a member of the editorial board of the Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, a new cross-disciplinary journal devoted to academic and practitioner analysis of rule of law promotion. ###

‘Sleep-out’ nowhere in BuCor manual

By Jaime Pilapil

NO one among the three Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officials knew for certain why murder convict Jose Antonio Leviste was granted a “sleep-out” privilege.
Sleep-out privilege means the “living-out” inmate can sleep in any house, whether owned by a resident inside the National Bilibid Prisons (NBP) compound or in a special hut the prisoner has built himself.
In the case of Leviste, a 71-year-old former governor, he constructed a hut near the Ina ng Awa Catholic Church or right inside the Environmental Center that his pro-environment foundation has built.
Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno was said to have donated to the foundation P200,000 as seed money.
During a hearing conducted by a panel from the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday, BuCor Assistant Director and Officer-in-Charge Teodora Diaz, NBP Superintendent Ramon Reyes and his predecessor, Armando Miranda, seemed confused about the sleep-out scheme.
State Counsel Wilberto Tolitol noticed that approval of application for the sleep-out privilege was a decision of the NBP superintendent and was not even in the BuCor manual.
BuCor Director Ernesto Diokno canceled the sleep-out privilege for 109 inmates on sleep-out status right after the May 18 incident where Leviste made his way to Makati City (Metro Manila), apparently right under the noses of BuCor officials.
The officials explained that the sleep-out system for inmates is different from the living-out system.
Reyes said that inmates detained at the minimum security camp are automatically granted living-out status either because they are about to complete the service of their sentences or because they are 70 years old or above.
He added that those living out can roam the NBP compound during daytime as part of BuCor’s program to help them reintegrate into society.
Diaz said that the sleep-out privilege is given to inmates who have “special skills” such as those of Leviste who, he added, is n expert in tree-planting.
The DOJ panel discovered that the former governor right after a Makati City court convicted him of murder was first detained at the NBP’s Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC) for a year in 2009, or a year before he was transferred to the minimum security compound in July 2010.
BuCor Agricultural Production head Wilson Marquez then recommended to Miranda to grant Leviste a sleep out status that year.
The DoJ panel members were amazed at the reason why the former governor was granted sleep-out privilege when any person can plant a tree.
“He has a special skill in propagation of seedlings, is that a special skill?” State Prosecutor Rohaira Lao asked.
Diaz explained that Leviste has the right to sleep near his project.
“Maybe, but since this is the project of Mr. Leviste, I think he has the option to be there to supervise it,” she said.
Diaz then disclosed that it was Marquez who requested that Leviste be given sleep-out status, although this privilege is not provided in the BuCor operating manual
Miranda explained that the scheme has been a practice since 1986.
But State Counsel Charlene Mae Tapic asked why the sleep-out policy was not included in the revised manual in 2000.#

The changing of the guard that was not

By Jaime Pilapil

ON March 9 this year and acting on the 2007 recommendations of the Office of the Ombudsman, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Ernesto Diokno, now on-leave, issued a removal order against Assistant Director Teodora Diaz, only to designate her as officer in charge(OIC) of the bureau on May 21, two days after the caper of homicide convict and former Gov. Jose Antonio Leviste of Batangas.

Also ejected from his post was Diaz’s husband, Armando, who was assigned at the fingerprint office.

Diokno then designated Supt. Armando Miranda of the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP), in a concurrent capacity, as OIC assistant director for administration and rehabilitation.

At present Diaz is the OIC of BuCor pending the outcome of investigation by a five-man panel from the Department of Justice of the May 18 incident where Leviste was able to get out of the NBP in Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila) without official permission.

Meanwhile, Miranda has been unseated and was placed on floating status.

Diokno is on official leave pending results of the Justice department inquiry into Leviste’s May 18 caper.

Records showed that the decision of the Ombudsman was only received by Diokno on January 27, 2011.

It was signed by Deputy Ombudsman for the Military—Emilio Gonzales 3rd—the very person who had been ordered by Malacanang dismissed from service for sitting on the case of a police officer.
It took more than one month for Diokno to issue a removal order against the Diaz couple.

The ejection of the Diazes stemmed from a July 26, 2007 ruling of the Office of Ombudsman that found the couple guilty of grave misconduct, for which they were meted out the penalty of dismissal from the service pursuant to Section 52, Rule IV of the Uniform Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service.

The case against the Diaz couple arose from an anonymous letter denouncing the unexplained wealth of the spouses while being
employed by BuCor.

Investigation showed that the couple earned only P160,672 in salaries from 1994 to 1998 but their net worth had ballooned to P967,580.

“There is a difference of P806,908, which from the documents gathered cannot be substantiated,” according to the nine-page decision.

The Diaz couple denied the charges and cited income derived from lendings and rentals, among others.

But the Ombudsman said that the couple failed to submit proofs that they had borrowed money from individuals and corporations.

“The unsubstantiated allegations of respondents on those respect are considered self-serving and deserve scant consideration. Bare allegations, unsubstantiated by evidence, is not equivalent to proof under the Rules of Court [Garcia v De Vera, 418 SCRA 27),” the decision said.

The Ombudsman also discovered that the couple failed to file their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth for 1995 and that they did not declare their rental income in their 1998 SALN.

The Manila Times tried to get the side of Mrs. Diaz but was told that she was not in her office.

BuCor modernization law antedates caper

BY JAIME PILAPIL
UNKNOWN to many and before the Leviste caper, the Bureau of Corrections had submitted to the House of Representatives and the Senate a proposed modernization law that will address problems being encountered by BuCor, including graft and corruption.
BuCor also had submitted to President Benigno Aquino 3rd a draft of an executive order that will pave the way for complete rehabilitation of existing national penitentiaries and creation of three more state prisons.
Superintendent Francisco Abunales, the head of BuCor’s reengineering office, on Wednesday said that his group has been holding meetings with congressmen Rolando Andaya of Camarines Sur and Rodolfo Biazon of Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila) and Sen. Francis Escudero, who will be principal authors of the new law.
Also a draft “Memorandum for the President” had been prepared to be signed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Abunales added.
He said that the proposed modernization documents were being pushed by BuCor Director Ernesto Diokno, who is on official leave pending results of the Leviste probe.
BuCor was saddled with controversies after homicide convict and former Gov. Jose Antonio Leviste of Batangas was caught unguarded in Makati City (also in Metro Manila) on May 18.
It turned out that Leviste left the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City without proper permit.
Abunales said that once the modernization law was approved and its provisions implemented, Leviste-like incidents would never happen.
According to him, the meager salaries of BuCor personnel deserve to be immediate addressed by the government.
The lowest-ranking employee— clerk— receives P3,000 monthly salary, while the lowest-ranking— guard—receives a P7,000 monthly pay.
BuCor’s yearly budget is P1.4 billion compared to the P4-billion budget of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
BuCor has been existing for more than 100 years, while BJMP was only created 18 years ago.
Abunales said that the P1.4 billion is not even enough for the salaries of 2,362 employees and decent food rationing for 35,400 inmates, scattered in seven penal farms and colonies all over the country.
Of the 2,362 employees, 1,328 are custodial personnel and 1,034 are civilian employees, with a prison guard-to-inmate ratio of 1:27, and is continuously increasing at an average rate of five percent every year.
“BJMP is adding 500 new jail guards every year, but we here in BuCor, we are not recruiting, not even one additional guard.” Abunales said.
Another big problem is congestion.
Abunales said that included in the proposed moderization law is the establishment of three more facilities, one in Nueva Ecija, another one in Lucena City (Quezon) and one more in Mindanao.
Because of inadequate personnel and facilities, segregation scheme of inmates has been limited to only three categories—maximum, medium and minimum—instead of crime committed as practiced in developed countries.
Equipment lack
BuCor at present lacks modern security equipment such as surveillance cameras, hand-held radios, firearms and X-ray scanners.
Under the proposed modernization law, its manpower will increase gradually to 6,000 in five years.
Custodial guards’ ranking will be patterned after that of BJMP with corresponding salary grades.
Also around P2 billion will be spent in five years to improve equipment and facilities, including acquisition of CCTV and X-ray scanners.
To support the director, two more assistants will be appointed, bringing the number of assistant directors to three—for administration, for operations and security and for reformation.
Abunales said that the modernization plan also proposes construction of a new building to house the offices of BuCor.
“At present, people mistake BuCor for the NBP because the bureau is housed at the NBP building. This creates confusion. BuCor should supervise the NBP. It should leave to the superintendent the running of the daily affairs of the NBP,” he pointed out.
True enough, once an incident happens at the NBP, Bucor officials, particularly the director, is blamed instead of the NBP superintendent.
BuCor has seven operating units located nationwide: New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City; Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City (also in Metro Manila) and the CIW Mindanao, Panabo, Davao; Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan; Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro; San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City; Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Leyte; and Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Panabo, Davao.
The Old Bilibid Prisons, which is located on Oroquieta Street in Santa Cruz, Manila, was established in 1847.
The Bureau of Prisons was created under the Reorganization Act of 1905.
The New Bilibid Prisons was established in 1935 in Muntinlupa to cope with the rising number of prisoners.
The Administrative Code of 1987 and Proclamation 495 changed the agencies’ name to Bureau of Corrections.

Bilibid or not! Ordinary cellphone sells for P1 million

By Jaime Pilapil

CELLPHONES sold at the maximum security compound of New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila) are priced from P300,000 to P1,000,000 each.
A colored phone is pegged at P300,000.
But GPRS phones are more expensive than wifi-ready smartphones.
A GPRS phone is priced at P1 million, while a smartphone is sold for at least P500,000 to P700,000.
Reason: There is no wifi at NBP.
With GPRS phones, all you need is enough load and connectivity and they are easy to operate.
But not all inmates inside the 10-hectare maximum security compound, a gated area for inmates convicted of crimes with jail terms of 20 years or more, are offered these “perks” because mobile phones are prohibited at the national penitentiary.
“Only inmates at Building 14 are usually patrons of these expensive phones. Because these prisoners are capable of paying that much. Almost all of them are foreigners and drug lords,” said an informant, a high-ranking official of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), an office that supervises NBP and seven r penal colonies.
The source asked The Manila Times not to reveal his identity because he is still in active duty and anytime, the drug lords might uncover his identity and have him killed just like what happend to BuCor Assistant Director Rodrigo Mercado.
Mercado was killed in an ambush in San Pedro, Laguna, in early May.
The insider said that Mercado sent a drug lord to a regional penal colony and, in retaliation, the drug lord planned and hired gunmen to silence him.
Meanwhile, phone units are not the only ones that are expensive inside NBP but also load cards, particularly, Globe prepaid cards.
“Globe signal is better than Smart in the area, so inmates use Globe SIM cards,” the source said.
A P500 prepaid card is sold for P1,000.
Foreigners at Bldg. 14 are a mix of Taiwanese, Chinese and some local drug lords.
“There are local inmates, but most of them end up as runners of the foreigners who are still being protected by their respective syndicates,” the informant said.
Although Bldg. 14 is within the maximum security compound, its gate is not accessible via the heavily-guarded 10-hectare maximum security compound but along the main road of NBP leading to the Reception and Diagnostic Center, the medium security compound and just in front of the BuCor Museum (formerly the lethal injection chamber).
“Building 14 has its own set of guards. The gate is just along the main road (the road has no name) and accessible anytime,” the source said.
The insider added that to be assigned as guard at the building is very lucrative.
“Guards are generously given tips every time they are sent for an errand by the drug lords. They don’t mind their monthly pay anymore. They earn more than ten times,” he said.
Building 14 before was a dreaded place.
The person who will be electrocuted or subjected to lethal injection is first housed at least a day before the execution at the building where he will eat his last sumptuous meal and have his last confession before a priest.
No less than on-leave BuCor Director Ernesto Diokno confirmed operations of drug syndicates inside NBP.
Diokno, who served as Western Police District (now Manila Police District) chief from 1989 to 1992 during the term of the mother of President Benigno 3rd, then-President Corazon Aquino, believed that Mercado’s murder was linked to his deputy’s unrelen tless campaign against illegal drugs inside the national penitentiary.
In another interesting revelation, the insider said that the reason why many bus drivers in Metro Manila and even drivers of south-bound and north-bound buses became drug addicts, or users of shabu, is the fact that a bus operator is now detained at NBP.
“The bus owner is a drug lord. That’s why many bus drivers became drug addicts because his tentacles supplied them with shabu,” the source added.
The informant said that it is difficult to stop the activities of these drug lords because of the color of money.
“Money talks. Money can silence you. Money can do anything in this side of the world.”

Multi-billion drug trade entrenched in NBP

By Jaime Pilapil

ILLEGAL drugs is a well-entrenched multi-billion trade inside the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila)—with millions in drug money slathering its taint on some officials of the Bureau of Corrections and the Department of Justice, a reliable source told The Manila Times on Saturday.
He revealed that while Building 14 functions as command post, certain areas of the 10-hectare maximum security compound serve as laboratory for manufacturing methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu.
Convicts with 20 years or more in jail terms stay at the maximum security compound. Building 14 is within the maximum security compound but it has a separate gate accessible from the main road.
Building 14 is the exclusive cell for druglords, who still manage to ply their illegal drug activities by using cellular phones in giving instructions to their subordinates. Cellphones are prohibited in any penitentiary but guards allow druglords to own mobile phone units in exchange for huge sums of money.
“The laboratory is tightly guarded. The irony is that government employees are guarding the convicts to manufacture shabu,” said the source, a high-ranking official of Bureau of Corrections, who agreed to be interviewed on condition of anonymity for fear that he would be killed by the drug syndicate.
In fact, the informant said, at one time in the past, the Department of
Justice, the agency which directly supervises BuCor, had used K-9 dogs to sniff out the clandestine shabu laboratories inside the facility.
“But shabu experts were a bunch of geniuses. The sniffing dogs just stood up and refused to move forward to pinpoint the laboratory. It turned out, the shabu makers sprayed a very obnoxious scent that the dogs could not tolerate. For a few minutes the place was inhabitable,” he said.
He said sometime in early 2000, around nine sniffing dogs were turned over by the Philippine National Police to NBP to help in stopping the entry of illegal drugs. “But these K-9 dogs were helpless. They died eventually. We even spent thousands for the training of our guards to take care of the K-9 dogs.”
The informant said it is difficult to locate the shabu laboratories because these are collapsible and portable. “At one time, during a raid, the shabu paraphernalia were found hidden inside a septic tank obviously to hide the shabu’s odor.”
In connivance with guards, the drug syndicate was able to smuggle outside of the maximum security compound the manufactured shabu, some placed in plastic containers and some in sachets.
The Times was able to confirm these revelations from another official, a former superintendent of NBP, who said that millions of money were being shared by NBP and BuCor officials, including some officials of the Department of Justice.
“Millions of money can always turn your eyes blind and your ears deaf.
(The cash flow) goes as far as Padre Faura (a street in Manila where DoJ head office is located),” the former superintendent said.
“It is difficult to reject these grease money. Not just because they are huge, but because they will kill you,” he said on the brink of tears, “just like what happened to some.”
Asked who were those corrupt DoJ officials, the source identified them and asked The Times not to publish their names.
The former superintendent said the NBP superintendent post is not just prestigious and rewarding in terms of payola. It is breath away from the most coveted post of assistant BuCor director.
“Once you become an assistant director you control all facets of NBP operations,” he stressed.
He said a director who is a former police official is very much welcome at BuCor.
“Actually, we rejoice every time the new BuCor director is a former police official because he is seen as corruptible,” the NBP official said.
The official said if only illegal drugs will be eradicated at NBP, the problems that bedevil the bureau is half-solved.

No blueprint for NBP transfer to Rizal town

By Jimmy Pilapil

GOVERNMENT, private individuals and groups have been talking about the possible transfer of the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) from Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila) to Tanay town in Rizal province.
But the truth is, the Tanay national penitentiary has no blueprint up to this day.
“So far, there is no detailed plan or architectural design of the proposed NBP compound in Tanay. The plan remains an executive order,” said Supt. Francisco Abunales, the chief of the Bureau of Corrections reengineering division, an office in charge of preparing physical improvements of national penal colonies.
The plan to put up a prison complex to be built at a 270-hectare lot in Tanay was conceived in 2006 under the administration of former President and now Rep. Gloria Arroyo of Pampanga.
Mrs. Arroyo issued Executive Order 568, which mandated the setting up of a new prison complex, and Proclamation 1158, which reserved the lot at barangay (village) Cayumbay in Tanay.
The Department of Justice, which was assigned to oversee the transfer, was to coordinate with the Budget and Environment departments for funding requirements and arrangements for the transfer.
But more than five years had passed and nothing concrete has come out to implement the modernization plan of the national penitentiary.
NBP has an aggregate land area of 531 hectares of which less than 20 hectares are being occupied by the more or less 40,000 inmates spread in three security compounds namely, maximum; medium also known as Sampaguita compound; and minimum also called Bagong Liwaway compound.
The national penitentiary opened in 1940 to accommodate an increasing number of prisoners.
For other uses
In 1991, then-President Corazon Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation 792, which was amended by Presidential Proclamation 120 issued on December 15, 1992, segregating 104.22 hectares of the NBP land area as housing site intended for Department of Justice and other government employees.
The housing project is now known as Katarungan Village.
When Mrs. Arroyo assumed office, she gave an instruction to the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) to study the allocation of portions of the penal reservation as housing sites for low-salaried government employees and for socialized housing purposes.
At the height of clearing Metro Manila’s railways of squatters, she issued Presidential Proclamation 234 on August 15, 2002, segregating 50 hectares of the NBP land area for socialized housing for families affected by the Rail Linkage Project in the Muntinlupa alignment.
The number of families affected was about 10,555.
In 2006, Mrs. Arroyo issued issuances to fast-track development of the NBP property for residential and mixed-use purposes.
The Arroyo administration identified the land allocation of the 366.7 hectares as follows: 78 hectares for government housing; 22 hectares for mixed-income residential purposes (with priority given to existing and qualified residents within NBP); 44 hectares for institutional, public or quasi-public purposes; 147 hectares for mixed-use/commercial/residential purposes; 51.7 hectares for open spaces; and 24 hectares for the implementation of the Daang-Hari South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) Road Link Project.
NBP is just one of the seven penal colonies and farms under the Bureau of Corrections.
Among its notable inmates were Amado Hernandez, a National Artist for Literature who wrote his masterpieces while imprisoned in the facility; former Sen. Jovito Salonga, who was imprisoned by the Japanese Kempetai in 1942; and Tomoyuki Yamashita, commander of the Japanese Imperial Army in the Philippines in 1944.

He who holds the gold rules National Bilibid Prisons

The Manila Times, 06 June 2011

BY JAIME PILAPIL
A MONEYED inmate at the New Bilibid Prisons, the country’s national penitentiary in Muntinlupa City (Metro Manila), may either become a “mayor” or “governor” of a “brigada” (loosely translated as gang) but for a price (read: cold cash).
“In the past, these mayors and governors are elected by the inmates in every selda [cell] or brigada [gangs are usually housed in separate buildings]. But now it is different, you can actually bid for the position.
The one who bids the highest, gets the post,” an official of the Bureau
of Corrections told The Manila Times on condition that he not be identified for fear of backlash from prison administrators.
The corrections bureau supervises Bilibid and seven penal colonies spread across the country.
The national penitentiary consists three security compounds—maximum, medium and minimum.
Convicts serving more than 20 years are housed in maximum, which has 14 buildings.
Inmates who are serving less than 20 years are placed in medium (five buildings).
Those prisoners with less than a year left in their sentence stay in
minimum (two buildings) until they are released.
According to the office of Supt. Ramon Reyes, as of June 3 (4 p.m.), the National Bilibid Prisons houses a total of 19,320 inmates.
In the maximum security compound are 11,515 of the convicts.
There are 6,083 of them in the medium security compound and 489 in
minimum security compound, where 109 are staying out.
In Philippine penal lingo, a security compound is also called “camp.”
So, there are three camps in each penal institution.
There is a fourth camp but only at the national penitentiary.
It is called Reception and Diagnostic Center, where all convicts spend their first 60 days after conviction.
Inmate evaluation
At the diagnostic center, each inmate undergoes thorough physical and psychological examination.
Each inmate is evaluated and eventually assigned to a camp in penal colony.
Since the center functions as half-way house to the camps, the inmates are not segregated by gang affiliation there.
Of the 14 buildings in the maximum security compound, only 13 buildings are organized as brigadas.
Building 14 is within the compound but it has a separate gate accessible via the main road.
It is exclusively for drug lords and other hardened criminals.
The building also functions also as disciplinary area for inmates who violate strict rules and regulations.
It is where you will find secluded cells or “bartolinas.”
In each building, there is a governor but a building can have two or more mayors depending on the number of gangs.
There are 14 gangs existing at the 14 buildings, among them Sigue-Sigue Sputnik, Sigue-Sigue Commandos and Batang City Jail.
A building can house two gangs but they are separated by a thick cement wall.
The mayors and governors report to the overseer, a civilian employee.
The mayor and governor are in charge of maintaining cleanliness and order in the brigada.
They act also as jury once a complaint is lodged against an inmate or if a prisoner committed an infraction of the rules and regulations of the building.
Indispensable people
The mayors and governors, who are indispensable in each brigada in maintaining order, they enjoy some perks, like being allowed to build a “kubol” (hut) outside of the buildings that function as their offices.
They are also responsible for sports festivals and special programs, which could either be religious or civic in nature.
Since they remit some amount to the overseer, the mayors and governors are allowed to earn by giving special treatment to a subordinate.
For example, they can allow a fellow prisoner to build a kubol inside the building that is not made from nipa alone but also from some linen as room divider, so as to give some privacy to the inmate.
The mayor operates a “motel” inside the building.
This motel, actually a bed covered on the sides with thick curtains, is where an inmate and his visiting wife stay for some hours.
Of course, the couple has to pay some amount, like P20 for a 20-minute stay.
Each building features an open area, where the inmates can spend their free time.
Such area is called “pondohan,” where the mayors usually gather to discuss how to distribute drugs and other contrabands.
The mayor and governor remits to the overseer monthly an amount not less than P500 (it used to be only P200).
Thirteen of 14 buildings of the maximum security compound are run by 102 mayors.
Multiply P500 one-hundred-two times and the mayors make the overseer richer by P51,000, which he partitions to his bosses—the national-penitentiary superintendent and the corrections-bureau director.
The medium security compound has 67 mayors. Multiply 67 with P500 and the overseer will get P33,500 monthly.
The minimum security compound has 6 mayors. Multiply 6 with P500, and the overseer will get P3,000.
The mayors and the overseer make a lot of money from each hut built either outside the selda or inside the brigada.
A rich inmate can build his hut outside the selda for a P25,000 one-time fee, while a hut inside the building costs P7,000.
Of course, the superintendent and the director are not left out—the overseer has to ask for their permission for each hut built but for a monetary consideration.
Since a rich inmate has his hut already, he could have all the amenities of a regular house or room.
He can have television, air-conditioning unit, an electric gas range, electric fan or even a desktop computer complete with Internet connections.
Entry fee
For you to enjoy these amenities, you have to bring them in but pay an entry fee and foot a monthly electric bill.
Naturally, payments for these bills go to the overseer and then to his bosses.
The Bureau of Corrections has set aside P50 for the daily food subsistence of each inmate.
Each selda has its own cook, also known as “ranchero” but usually the rationed food does not taste good.
What the ranchero would do is to recook or “repair” the food to make it palatable to the taste of the inmates, especially to the mayors and governors.

Lawyer of Hacienda Luisita farmers, nominated for Ombudsman post

May 16, 2011

Lawyer of Hacienda Luisita farmers, nominated for Ombudsman post
By Jaime Pilapil

The lawyer of a group of farmers of Hacienda Luisita has been nominated on Monday for the post of Ombudsman before the Judicial Bar Council.

Marlon Juliano Manuel, 41, currently executive director of Ateneo de Manila University-based Alternative Law Groups (ALG), a coalition of twenty non-government organizations in the Philippines that adhere to the principles and values of alternative or social development-oriented law practice, was nominated to replaced resigned Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

Supporters of Manuel trooped to the JBC secretariat at the Supreme Court office on Padre Faura Street, Manila in the morning to beat the deadline of the submission of nominations.

In separate letters to the JBC, former Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) undersecretary Hector Soliman and noted constitutionalist Christian Monsod pushed for the appointment of d Manuel, saying the latter’s experience as human rights lawyer and his “passion for justice” make him deserving to be the next Ombudsman.

“The underperformance of the Office of the Ombudsman, in its critical task of being the people’s champion against anything illegal, improper, unjust or inefficient in government, is largely due to the fact that the appointing power invariably looks only at the legal credentials of the nominees,” said Monsod.

“Marlon has honed his skills over the years in the area of litigation, having appeared in all levels of judicial and quasi-judicial tribunals, including the Supreme Court. He combines practical skillss in the courtroom with his academic knowledge as a professor of constitutional law,” added Soliman.

Manuel, a 5th placer in 1994 Bar exam, is currently the national coordinator of ALG aside from teaching law at the college of laws of Ateneo de Manila University and the University of Sto. Tomas.

He finished law at Ateneo de Manila University School of Law Juris Doctor in 1994. He was second honors, an Evelio Javier Leadership awardee for having been elected president of the Ateneo Law Student Council (1993-1994).

He also also took his undergraduate at Ateneo de Manila University, College of Arts and Sciences 1990, major in Legal Management and a dean’s lister. He graduated salutorian in high school at St. Augustine College in Baliuag, Bulacan; an honorable mention in elementary at St. Mary’s Academy also in Baliuag, Bulacan.

“He is a bar topnotcher, professor of law, public interest litigator, justice educator, good governance & justice reform advocate, human rights defender, organizational and project management expert, regional and international worker, author. He is an embodiment of competence, probity an integrity. An independent Ombudsman starts with Marlon J. Manuel,” said Raymond Salas of the Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN), where Manuel spent 10 years as executive director after a brief stint as associate of the SyCip Salazar Hernandez and Gatmaitan law offices.

Manuel, 41, is a fellow of the Social Weather Stations (SWS), a non-stock, non-profit, social research organization. He is also curretly the lead counsel of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association.

Since 1996, he has gained one and a half decades of experience in social justice and human rights lawyering.

Among the most notable cases that Manuel has handled were the public interest cases against Executive Order 464, Proclamation 1017; the attempt to change the 1987 Constitution, where he had the opportunity to speak before the Supreme Court during the respective oral arguments of the three cases; the case involving the farmers of Sumilao, Bukidnon, where he served as one of the farmers’ lead counsel.

He is also at present a partner at Dellosa Mendoza Bag-ao and Manuel (DMBM) law firm.

He is currently a member of the executive committee of Legal Network for Truthful Elections.

Manuel had been consistently involved in public interest cases, representing vulnerable and marginalized groups, such as workers, farmers, women, indigenous peoples and local communities.

In 2000, he acted as counsel for a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations (POs) that challenged the constitutionality of a provision in the year 2000 General Appropriations Act which placed P10 Billion of the local governments’ Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) under “Unprogrammed Funds”. In an en banc decision that was rendered in 2005 (ACORD v. Zamora, G.R. No. 144256), the Supreme Court granted the petition and declared the Year 2000 GAA unconstitutional insofar as it set apart P10 Billion of the IRA as “Unprogrammed Funds”.

In 2007 and 2008, Manuel was involved as one of the lawyers of the farmers of Sumilao, Bukidnon, who challenged San Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) ownership of a 144 hectare land that had earlier been given to the farmers under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Manuel is a member of the editorial board of the Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, a new cross-disciplinary journal devoted to academic and practitioner analysis of rule of law promotion. ###