Former and incumbent Bureau of Corrections officials bared more money-making schemes and other anomalies inside the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City during the fifth hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee into the botched release of heinous crime inmates under the Good Conduct Time Allowance law yesterday.
Apart from abusing the provisions of the GCTA law, some inmates and BuCor officials are engaged in petty and large-scale rackets, including kidnapping, gambling activities, and allowing the entry of women inside prison cells of high-profile inmates, they said.
Former BuCor officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos and National Bureau of Investigation intelligence agent Jovencio Ablen Jr., responding to Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson’s question, testified there were at least seven money-making schemes operating inside the Bilibid “since time immemorial.”
This include allowing the entry of “tilapia” or women for high-profile inmates, which Ragos said may fetch a price of P30,000 for one night.
“Nagpapasok ng babae, ‘yun ‘yung ginagamit nung high-profile inmate. Nag-eenjoy sila dun sa mga babae,” Ragos said, adding that some of these women would later become either a girlfriend or a wife of these high-profile inmates.
These women would end up also becoming victims of kidnapping – another money-making scheme orchestrated by fellow inmates and their police-friends outside the NBP.
According to Ragos, these women of high-profile inmates would be abducted once they step out of the NBP. The negotiations for their release happen inside the NBP and the victims would eventually freed after ransom money amounting to as much as P200,000 is paid.
Gambling, Ragos said, also takes place in the “kubol” or huts of inmates.
Another scheme, Ragos said, called “catering,” happens when portion of inmates’ food allowances go to corrupt BuCor officials. According to him, this could net up to P800,000 a month for BuCor officials.
“SOP,” he said, happens when proceeds from “instant collection” from inmates are brought to the BuCor director’s quarters.
Contrabands – prohibited items such as mobile phones, cigarettes, liquor, and even drugs which are smuggled to inmates – are another source of money.
Apart from these, “special requests” like parties and favors, including allowing women from abroad to stay a few days, also abound inside the NBP.
Ablen said income derived from these money-making scheme could reach up to P50,000 a week.
“Sa personal knowledge ko, pinarating sa akin minimum P300,000 to P500,000 a week. Sa mga pinapaabot,” Ablen said.
Lacson said he invited Ragos and Ablen to testify before the committee to enable them to hear the information that other resource persons invited by the panel won’t share in the hearing.
“Kasi ang information na nakukuha natin sa kanila ayaw i-share ng narito. That’s one reason why, we want to get the whole picture more clearly,” Lacson said. (Hannah Torregoza)
