The PNP's flagship penal institution New Bilibid Prison is a horror show. Recently human remains were found inside a septic tank. This prompted DOJ Secretary Remulla to speculate that there are more mass graves to be found inside the prison.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1808443/more-mass-graves-may-be-inside-new-bilibid-prisons-maximum-security-compound |
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday said there may be more mass graves inside the New Bilibid Prison’s (NBP) maximum security compound.
This comes after the discovery of human remains in a septic tank inside the prison facility.(We think we can find two more mass graves inside the maximum security compound through those two septic tanks. Then we are also eyeing one more site which we think may yield human remains.)
Asked to clarify if these mass graves are throughout the New Bilibid Prison, Remulla replied: Only inside the prison’s maximum security compound.
Remulla said authorities have started their thorough search operations inside the prison after an inmate went missing last July 15.
Remulla said the decapitated body of the inmate, Michael Angelo Cataroja, was found on Thursday.
And who created those mass graves? Who chopped up those inmates and disposed of their body parts by tossing them in a septic tank? "Certain persons" says BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2023/7/31/certain-persons-behind-violence-at-bilibid |
“In my review, there seems to be bad elements who want to ruin our relationship with inmates that’s why I conducted a deeper investigation,” Catapang said.
“Now I have good news or lead on who these people are but I won’t publicly reveal them yet until I made my report to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla,” he said.
Could those certain persons be the gang members and leaders who run the prison? Surely they know. The bottom line is if you are an inmate in NBP your life is at risk. But at least you will be given the privilege of ordering food online.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/08/02/2285546/bilibid-inmates-allowed-order-food-online |
Inmates of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City are now allowed to have food delivered to them through online delivery applications.
This can be done through laptops used for e-dalaw, where they can ask their family members to order food for them and coordinate the delivery with jail guards, according to NBP Supt. Angelina Bautista.
“Their families are the ones who order the food and they will message the PDL (person deprived of liberty) through e-dalaw,” Bautista told reporters yesterday.
She said all deliveries are checked by sniffing dogs.
Bautista noted that not only family members can send food, but also organizations that want to help PDLs, considering that the P70-per-day budget for food at the NBP is not enough for three meals.
The e-dalaw is an online visitation program of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), which manages the NBP, as part of the agency’s reformation efforts to give support to PDLs in terms of mental health.
The online visitation program is also in accordance with the Nelson Mandela Rules of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which states that prisoners should be allowed, “under necessary supervision,” to communicate with their family and friends by corresponding in writing or using telecommunication, electronic, digital and other means where available.
BuCor director general Gregorio Catapang Jr. earlier admitted that there were several instances when contrabands were hidden inside food packages delivered to the national penitentiary.
Catapang, however, said he is not keen on disabling such online delivery applications since it is part of PDLs’ rights to order food.
So, prisoners contact their family members and they are the ones who order the food? And there have been "several instances when contrabands were hidden inside food packages?" What does the BuCor Chief mean the prisoners have a right to order food? He is talking about the Mandela Rules.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2023/7/31/bilibid-s-pd-ls-allowed-to-make-online-purchases-thru-bu-cor-s-laptops |
Persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City have been allowed to make online purchases through laptops owned by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. said.
“We have laptops where they can place orders,” Catapang said during an interview on DZBB on Monday, July 31.
He said the bureau’s laptops are those used for its “E-Dalaw” program for PDLs.
Catapang responded to the call aired by Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-List Rep. Erwin Tulfo to look into information that Bilibid inmates can order items online.
He said that allowing PDLs to order online is “This is part of the prison reforms under the Mandela Rules.”
In May 2023, the Philippines became one of the member countries of the Group of Friends (GoF) of the Mandela Rules which, according to the United Nations (UN), was formed “ to create awareness and promote the practical application of the United Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules).”
On online purchases, Catapang said that based on rules and regulations, “inmates are allowed to use P2,000 per day in cash or in kind.”
“They are pitiful because of their condition so you give them some freedoms,” said Catapang as he pointed out that the NBP is a congested facility that can only hold 6,000 inmates but currently has 30,450 PDLs.
Despite online purchases, PDLs are not allowed to own or get hold of mobile phones.
He also stressed that every delivery undergoes strict security inspection.
He assured that contraband items brought inside prison facilities either through online or through visitors are intercepted during inspection.
BuCor Director Catapang defends this practice by claiming it is part of the Mandela Rules. To put it bluntly that is a lot of crap. The Mandela Rules say nothing about allowing inmates to order food or anything else online. As for food they say the following:
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| https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N15/443/41/PDF/N1544341.pdf?OpenElement |
1. Every prisoner shall be provided by the prison administration at the usual hours with food of nutritional value adequate for health and strength, of wholesome quality and well prepared and served.
2. Drinking water shall be available to every prisoner whenever he or she needs it.
Apparently the BuCor is not even following this rule of giving prisoners adequate food.
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| https://www.philstar.com/nation/2023/08/04/2286069/bucor-flagged-over-measly-meals-inmates |
The Commission on Audit has again called out the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) over what the COA described as the measly and unhealthy meals being served to inmates of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) and Correctional Institution for Women (CIW).
“Meals provided to inmates at the NBP and CIW were not in accordance with the Food Subsistence Agreement (FSA) due to failure of the Food Inspection Committee to monitor its implementation,” the COA said in its 2022 annual audit report on BuCor.
Of the P5.264 billion appropriated budget of the BuCor for 2022, P1.264 billion was earmarked for 49,481 presumed number of inmates for the year.
The audit body said a review of the records of meals served to inmates from June to December 2022 revealed that caterers Aurora Sumulong Eatery and Mang Kiko Catering Services deviated from what was agreed upon under the FSA.
According to state auditors, changes in the menu were not approved by the BuCor nutritionist and the NBP superintendent, in violation of Section 8.3 of the FSA for 2022.
“The failure to comply with the required approval prior to substitution of meals may result in serving meals that are not nutritionally appropriate for inmates since the meals were not assessed by the BuCor nutritionist based on the agreed 10-day-cycle menu,” the COA said.
The COA’s breakdown of meals served to the inmates revealed instances wherein the prisoners were merely served bread and coffee for breakfast.
Under the agreed menu, they should have been served a viand, steamed rice and fruit.
Under Day 3 of the agreed menu, the inmates were supposed to be served “kare-kare” and boiled rice for lunch, but were instead given “steamed rice and misua patola.”
For Day 4, a dinner of “pork asado with camote or saba and boiled rice” was substituted with “steamed rice and adobong sitaw.”
A dinner of “chicken afritada with carrots and potato and boiled rice” for Day 9 of the menu plan was replaced with “steamed rice and sardines.”
For Day 10, the inmates were supposed to be served “pork sinigang and boiled rice” but were instead given “steamed rice and mixed vegetables.”
The COA said the caterers also failed to provide the required serving portions of rice specified under the FSA.
The audit body noted that under the technical specifications of the FSA, male inmates should be served two cups of steamed rice, while female inmates should be served one-and-a-half cup of rice to meet the required 2,000-kilo calories per day for each prisoner.
State auditors said delivery receipts attached to the disbursement vouchers showed that all the inmates were served just one cup of rice.
In its response, the BuCor said the “matter is under investigation.”
The matter is under investigation? Let's not hold our breath.
There is not a single thing about inmates using the internet being able to order food or anything else in the Mandela Rules. But there are rules about overcrowding.
1. Where sleeping accommodation is in individual cells or rooms, each prisoner shall occupy by night a cell or room by himself or herself. If for special reasons, such as temporary overcrowding, it becomes necessary for the central prison administration to make an exception to this rule, it is not desirable to have two prisoners in a cell or room.
2. Where dormitories are used, they shall be occupied by prisoners carefully selected as being suitable to associate with one another in those conditions. There shall be regular supervision by night, in keeping with the nature of the prison.
Temporary overcrowding? NBP has contained 5x as many inmates as it is built to hold for years now. The very first rule forbids cruel and degrading punishment and that their security shall be guaranteed at all times.
All prisoners shall be treated with the respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings. No prisoner shall be subjected to, and all prisoners shall be protected from, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, for which no circumstances whatsoever may be invoked as a justification. The safety and security of prisoners, staff, service providers and visitors shall be ensured at all times.
With overcrowding and mass graves it is rather obvious that the security of prisoners at New Bilibid Prison is not being "ensured at all times." Yet the BuCor director has the gall to bring up the Mandela Rules to justify allowing inmates to use BuCor laptops to order food? It's ridiculous to the extreme.
