NEWLY appointed Bureau of Corrections Director Benjamin delos Santos warned erring inmates, prison guards and officials that he will not hesitate “to destroy in order to rebuild” the New Bilibid Prison, which has been mired in a drug scandal and corruption.
Despite stricter security measures being imposed by the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force and installation of signal jammers, contraband continues to find its way into the national penitentiary.
“It’s like an old house that’s infested by termites. If necessary, we have to rebuild a fresh one, to Delos Santos said he is considering the full implementation of the agency’s modernization program to provide training and decent salaries to prison guards.
“I hope we could also put up a correctional academy where we could professionally train correctional officers, ” he said.
The agency’s modernization has been covered by a law, but has not been implemented since it was passed in 2013.
Secretary of Justice Vitaliano Aguirre II, however, would push for its implementation, Delos Santos said.
The current NBP was originally built to accommodate only 5,000 inmates, but the prison population has grown to 23,000, he said.
With the modernization program comes better benefits for NBP jail guards and personnel, De los Santos said.