Remulla directs BuCor to look for missing Bilibid inmate

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Friday he has directed Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. to keep searching for a person deprived of liberty (PDL) who went missing at the New Bilibid Prison.

“Hindi, basta kailangan halughugin lahat. Lahat ng kailangan baliktarin, baliktarin na. Basta’t hanapin ng hanapin. Hindi pwedeng tumigil sa kakahanap,” Remulla said in a media briefing.

(I told him to search everywhere. If necessary, everything must be turned upside down. They should keep looking. They shouldn’t stop looking.)

Remulla then reiterated the need to establish regional prisons to address the problem of high ratio of prison officers to PDLs.

“Kaya nga gusto natin magkaroon ng regional prison. Kasi kapag hindi ito na-regionalize at lumiit ang numero na hanggang 2,500 na lang isang piitan ay talagang magkakaproblema tayo,” he said.

(That’s why we want a regional prison. Because if this is not regionalized and limited then we will have problems.)

In a phone interview, BuCor Superintendent Angelina Bautista said the 25-year-old PDL who went missing was detained at the NBP for violation of the Anti-Fencing Law.

Bautista said they could not conclude whether the PDL had escaped or was still at BuCor while the search was ongoing.

She said Philippine Coast Guard personnel went to the facility with dogs to help in the search.

“Kaso ito po, 10.87 hectares ang lawak po nito. Wala pa po ‘yata kaming… kalahating hectares. Ang aso pala, hanggang 30 minutes lang ang power. So ngayon continuous pa rin po kami bukas hanggang matapos po kami,” Bautista said.

According to Bautista, more than 30 security officers and the camp commander were relieved following the incident.

“Ni-relieve po namin ‘yung mga personnel na involve nung araw na ‘yun nung nawala ‘yung PDL tapos nag create po kami ng recovery team, rescue team, [at] intelligence team para kung tumakas na siya naka-standby na po sa last known address niya,” she said. — VBL, GMA Integrated News