GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Bilibid inmates allowed to order food online —BuCor chief Catapang
Persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) detained at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City are allowed to order food via online delivery applications, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director-General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said on Monday.
In an interview over Dobol B TV, Catapang said inmates are allowed to order online through the laptops used for “e-dalaw”.
There were several instances already where contrabands were hidden inside the food packages that were delivered to the national penitentiary, the BuCor chief admitted.
All the food deliveries are left at an outpost at the NBP, Catapang said.
“Totoo po ‘yon. Nangyari po ‘yan. May nag-order ng spaghetti [from a fast food]. Pina-inspect ko, isiningit do’n sa loob ng spaghetti ang isang kaha ng sigarilyo,” he shared.
(That is true. It happens. Someone ordered spaghetti. I had someone inspect it and they found one pack of cigarettes hidden underneath the spaghetti.)
(There was also a sachet of shabu included [in the food delivered]. It's a good thing this was discovered but we did not announce it to the public so as not to cause alarm. But we know this is happening.)
Asked if these kinds of online delivery applications should be disabled, Catapang said: “Hindi po kasi karapatan po nila umorder ng pagkain e… Kasama po ‘yan sa Mandela prison reform [model].”
(No because PDLs have the right to order food. That is part of the Mandela prison reform [model].)
In justifying this, Catapang mentioned the “super congested” situation inside the NBP.
According to Catapang, NBP can only accommodate 6,000 PDLs but right now there are around 30,000 PDLs inside.
“Kawawa po talaga kaya bigyan mo rin sila ng kalayaan nila,” Catapang said.
(It is really a pitiful situation so you should give them a little leeway.)
Last week, ACT-CIS party-list representative Erwin Tulfo raised the need to conduct an inquiry on the supposed fast-food deliveries and other alleged privileges enjoyed by the PDLs. —KG, GMA Integrated News
