De Lima: Bilibid riot probe should seek cause of 'general restlessness' at prison
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Leila de Lima urged authorities to identify the root causes of the recent riot at the New Bilibid Prison that left three Persons Deprived of Liberty dead and injured 14 others.
"More than petty skirmishes, there must be underlying causes for the general restlessness among the Bilibid PDLs that induce violent behavior. Reports reaching my office speak of rampant irregularities, including drug use," De Lima, a former justice secretary, said in a statement Tuesday.
De Lima, a former justice secretary, has been in detention since 2017 on cases related to the illegal drug trade at Bilibid. She has denied the allegations and said that these were made up and are motivated by politics.
Improvised weapons consfiscated
On Sunday night, a riot, which stemmed from verbal heckling, broke out among inmates of Bilibid’s East Quadrant. Inmates killed by bullets fired from improvised firearms, the Bureau of Corrections said.
BuCor authorities also recovered improvised firearms with live ammunition and bladed weapons from inmates.
De Lima, who is eyeing another term at the Senate, said she hopes investigators will go beyond identifying and punishing culprits behind the incident. “Dapat alamin nang masinop ang mga kababalaghan diyan (They should thoroughly find out the mysteries there),” she added.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra for his part said he directed Undersecretary Deo Marco to submit his report on the incident, including recommended courses of action, within the week.
In June 2021, a fight broke out at the Medium Security Compound leaving one inmate dead and three others injured. Two deadly gang brawls, which happened a month apart, also erupted in 2020.
Last June, Guevarra said the justice department will continue the investigation into the liability of BuCor in deadly riots in the Bilibid.
“What I want to know is how such a violent incident could happen in the wee hours of the morning and last for hours, and why the prison authorities failed to detect and prevent such a huge gang war that left many inmates dead or injured,” the DOJ chief said then. — Kristine Joy Patag
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