Lawmaker seeks probe of second Bilibid road wall

MANILA, Philippines — Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon is seeking a public hearing at the House of Representatives after the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) built a wall to close down another road at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) reservation over the weekend.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Biazon said he wrote a letter to House justice committee chairman Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso III seeking a resolution to conduct an inquiry on the closure of the road leading to Southville earlier in the year.

He said he is waiting for Veloso’s response.

Biazon said the closure of the second road, which leads to an area called Type B, is “wrong and unjust.”

“With the local government, we are opposing the building of another wall, like how we opposed the wall at Southville,” he said.

Southville is a settlement of the National Housing Authority (NHA) at the NBP reservation.

Biazon said the second wall was built amid his office’s ongoing talks with the Department of Justice, the NHA, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the city government and BuCor regarding the first wall.

“During our meeting, it was agreed to have a compromise from all sides regarding the matter. However, in the middle of the talks, where the first problem was not yet resolved, the BuCor made a move that gravely affects the citizens of Muntinlupa,” he said.

On Monday, the city council of Muntinlupa passed a resolution condemning BuCor’s move, with majority floor leader Councilor Raul Corro saying the bureau implemented policies without prior consultation with the local government.

“The BuCor law is not superior to the Constitution, the new Local Government Code, the Urban Development and Housing Act and other existing laws,” Corro said.

No permission needed

In a message, BuCor spokesperson Gabriel Chaclag said the second wall closed down an “internal roadway,” as he reiterated that the NBP reservation is a government security camp.

“Authorities do not need to ask for permission from the (local government unit) if they would be closing or opening an internal roadway. Have you heard Camp Crame or Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City asking for permission before they close down roads inside the camps?” Chaclag said in Filipino.

The road, he added, should really be closed to civilians.

“Only BuCor personnel should be within the area, and they have access because they have a decal so they could go through the road to the administrative building area,” Chaclag said, as he insisted that only vehicles are not allowed to pass through since there is still “pedestrian access.”

Biazon told The STAR that he grew up in Fort Bonifacio but he has “never seen officials of Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame construct a wall on a road, especially with residents using the road as access.”

The lawmaker’s father is former senator and Armed Forces chief Rodolfo Biazon.

The younger Biazon also cited Article 692 of the Civil Code and Sections 2, 21, 25 and 27 of the Local Government Code.

Biazon also cited Section 16 of the Local Government Code, which gives the local government the right and duty to intervene when the welfare of its constituents are affected.

“Perhaps if they can show any law which repeals or invalidates those provisions of the Civil Code and Local Government Code, it could justify their explanation,” he said, referring to the BuCor.