Drug lords back in Bilibid

MANILA, Philippines - The drug lords detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for their luxurious lifestyles and continuing to operate their illegal drugs business while in the New Bilibid Prison were returned to the NBP yesterday, but housed in a new building.

Gone are the days when these inmates, dubbed the “Bilibid 19,” enjoyed a spoiled lifestyle in the state penitentiary under the protection of their gangs and “corrupt” jail officials, said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

“This is the true prison,” Bureau of Corrections director Ricardo Rainer Cruz described Building 14, which was rehabilitated to house the high-profile inmates.

They were removed from NBI before dawn yesterday, some without the knowledge of their families while others had relatives escorting them back to the NBP.

The inmates are: Amin Imam Boratong, Michael Ong, Willy Sy, Noel Martinez, Eugene Chua, Chua Sam Li, Peter Co, Vincent Sy, Joel Capones, Herbert Colangco, Tom Chua, Rommel Capones, Jojo Baligad, Willy Chua, Jacky King Sy and Benjamin Marcelo.

De Lima said they did not inform the inmates’ families and transported them back to the NBP at past 4 a.m. for security reasons.

“What we heard was that they did not want to be transferred (to Building 14), but to their old kubols. If we bring them back there, they would be under the protection of their gangs and would be able to set up their kubols like before,” she said.

Two other drug lords were not included in the transfer. German Agojo is confined in a hospital while the other inmate remains with the Witness Protection Program for testifying against the other drug lords.

More inmates for Building 14

Building 14 is a refurbished building in the NBP, where inmates either have their own cells or share the cell with fellow inmates, depending on their rapport with each other.

The building can accommodate 58 inmates. De Lima said the vacancy will be filled soon. Cruz added that they are looking to fill Building 14’s cells this month.

De Lima said government agencies involved in security and law and order are finalizing the list of convicts who will join the Bilibid 19.

She said the transfer will be based on “standards” based on intelligence reports by these agencies. They will target those who remain involved in the illegal drug trade despite their conviction and those who have the capacity to continue with their business while in prison.

“The goal really is to make the NBP a completely drug-free facility,” De Lima said.

NBI agents, on the other hand, are “very happy” that the Bilibid 19 have been removed from their custody.

“We have been waiting for this day because they are thorns in our side,” said an agent who requested anonymity.

High life

NBI agents plucked the drug lords from their luxurious and fully furnished kubols in the NBP’s maximum security compound last December.

The inmates, under the protection of paid jail officials, freely roamed within the compound, their high-end mobile phones in hand. They could play tennis, relax in illegally made Jacuzzis and enjoy nights with prostitutes, according to the NBI.

Building 14, on the other hand, has cells with its own bathrooms and bunk beds.

Each cell is monitored by surveillance cameras and the building is secured by jail guards De Lima herself selected and described as not vulnerable to corruption.

“We assigned the right guys. The right supervisors. These people would always try with all sorts of means and methods to go around the system to smuggle in contraband,” she said.

De Lima said the Bilibid 19 will stay in Building 14 until the government’s new prison facility in Nueva Ecija is completed.