De Lima: No 2-story Boratong house in Bilibid

MANILA, Philippines - There is no two-story house of convicted shabu flea market operator Amin Imam Boratong in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said yesterday.

Citing a report from NBP superintendent Robert Rabo, she said the building being attributed to Boratong is a facility that serves as a “praying area” for Muslim detainees. 

“Even if you go there, you will see that is really intended for the Muslims. I’ve seen that one during my earlier surprise ocular inspection, I’ve been there,” she told reporters in an ambush interview. 

Also contrary to reports, De Lima said the building is not air-conditioned and that it was not Boratong who built the facility.

De Lima bared this as she vowed lasting reforms in the NBP and other penal facilities of the Bureau of Correction with the signing yesterday of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 10575, the BuCor Modernization Act, at a hotel in Manila.

The BuCor, which is under the administrative supervision of the Department of Justice (DOJ), is in charge of the country’s prisons and penal farms. 

With the approval of the IRR, which will take effect 15 days after publication, De Lima laid down the plans for the national penitentiary. 

She said the NBP will be moved to Laur, Nueva Ecija next year with bidding for the contractor set in the first quarter. 

The transfer of the facility to the province is expected to address the congestion of inmates in the national penitentiary, which houses some 33,000 inmates when its capacity should be only up to 9,000 people. 

De Lima said a P50-billion fund is being eyed for this project. 

The DOJ chief also bared the plan to hire 15,000 additional prison guards to address the insufficiency in manpower of the BuCor not only in the NBP but also in other prison colonies in the provinces like Iwahig in Palawan, Sablayan in Mindoro and Davao.

And to address corruption among prison guards and officers, De Lima said the BuCor would increase their salaries by 100 percent. 

The entry-level salary for NBP guards is only at Grade 5. De Lima said this would be doubled to Salary Grade 10, which would match the salary of policemen.