Having no “compassion for evil,” President Duterte is unwilling to expand the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City despite reports of jail congestion problems such as deaths and diseases.
The President said he would rather let the inmates endure the congested State penitentiary than build a bigger facility for them.
“Sabi yung Bilibid, overcrowded? P**** i*** hindi ako maglagay ng isang kuwarto pa diyan kayong mga g**o kayo,” Duterte said during the birth anniversary celebration of former Senate President Manny Villar last Thursday.
Duterte, a former prosecutor, said he believes that most Bilibid inmates deserve to rot in jail. “Well, there’s always the law of averages na baka meron talagang inosente diyan but by and large hindi ka naman pumasok diyan kung…Hala sige magtiis kayo dyan. I don’t have any compassion for evil,” he added.
Duterte made the statement after denying speculations he has ordered authorities to murder drug suspects who surrender in the war on drugs. He explained that he prefers these drug offenders to spend time in jail than let the policemen and soldiers kill them.
“I do not allow the policemen and the military men to kill a person with outstretched hands in surrender,” he said. “Ang pulis, bakit ka patayin? For what? Bakit ka papatayin? Tapos na ang problema niya kung papatayin mo. I-pasok mo doon sa kulungan, doon sa Bilibid kasi doon mag-tiis siya,” he added.
Duterte admitted though that he learned to loathe criminals ever since he spent years as public prosecutor. “Even if you don’t want it, you prosecute cases in court every day, you begin to hate criminals,” he said.
But Duterte denied having a “persecution complex” over his hate for criminals. “Ang sabi nila persecution complex. I don’t think so because I’ve always insisted kung ano ang tama, only the truth,” he said.
Last month, Bilibid authorities reported the deaths of four inmates amid the problems of congestion and disease hounding the prison facility. NBP Hospital chief Henry Fabro has attributed the death of inmates to the supposed lack of medical staff and poorly equipped hospital. (Genalyn Kabiling)