Catapang orders probe into Bilibid strip search amid complaint

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. on Tuesday ordered an investigation into a complaint filed against the strip search conducted on wives of prisoners deprived of liberty (PDLs) during their visit to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). 

This came after wives of PDLs filed a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) against the strip search they experienced at the NBP Maximum Security Compound on April 21.

Meanwhile, Catapang also welcomed investigations against the agency so it could clarify its position on the visitation of PDLs.

According to Catapang, a strip search is strictly being implemented in all prisons and penal farms after a large number of visitors were caught sneaking contrabands.

BuCor said that from October 2023 to March 2024, 30 visitors were caught trying to smuggle contraband such as suspected illegal drugs and tobacco inside their private parts or tucked or sewn into their underwear.

In his report to the director general, NBP Acting Superintendent Roger Boncales recommended that strip searches be implemented for all visitors, as random searches and frisk searches were ineffective.

Citing the Bucor Operating Manual on visitor control, Boncales said that women visitors shall be searched by female corrections officers in a private area with the consent of the concerned visitor.

“We have to be strict, without fear or favor, in the implementation of strip searches; otherwise, we will negate our responsibility to protect our PDLs, and if we exempt an individual, we might be accused of giving VIP treatment,” Catapang said in a statement.

He said BuCor has appealed for an additional budget in order to procure full body scanner machines.

"With this, it can detect objects, even those inside a person's body for security screening purposes, without physically removing the person's clothes or making any physical contact,” Catapang said.

He also expressed support for the passage of House Bill 9153, which seeks to prevent the proliferation of contraband in prison facilities. 

In a statement, political prisoner group KAPATID said BuCor’s justification for the strip search represented “flawed reasoning” and was a “disproportionate response.”

“By resorting to intrusive strip searches as routine procedure, authorities not only violate the law but also perpetuate a cycle of trauma and degradation for both the prisoners and their families,” KAPATID spokesperson Fides Lim said.

“Such practices do not align with the principles of human rights, justice, fairness, and respect for human dignity that should guide government institutions, especially those tasked with the responsibility of rehabilitation and correction,” she added. —AOL/VBL, GMA Integrated News