THE Justice Department will investigate the resurgence of illegal drug activities inside the New Bilibid Prison, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Monday.
Aguirre had said he considered the neutralization of drug syndicates inside the NBP one of his biggest accomplishments during his first year in office, and said any resurgence must be dealt with immediately.
“I have received reports that there were some reactivation. We are doing something about this, we are going to end this resurgence by some inmates. I talked to Director General Benjamin delos Santos last Saturday, and we know what we are going to do,” Aguirre said in an interview.
The Justice secretary noted that 70 percent to 75 percent of illegal drugs were being trafficked from inside the NBP before the Duterte administration.
“We have successfully curbed 75 percent of the illegal drug trade. If ever, the resurgence is about five to 10 percent only and we are going to clip it again,” Aguirre said.
Last year, the department tapped members of the Special Action Force to replace prison guards in a bid to stop illegal drug transactions inside the NBP.
He said the SAF personnel would be moved after three months to avoid familiarity with the inmates.
He added that charges would be filed against any SAF personnel found involved in illegal drug activities.
Also on Monday, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said the restoration of the death penalty would be a strong deterrent against heinous crimes related to the use of illegal drugs.
PDEA Director General Isidro S. Lapeňa said this after Carmelino Ibañez, a 26-year-old construction worker, killed five family members, including three children, while under the influence of drugs in a house in Bulacan.
“The suspect admitted that he was high on drugs upon commission of the crime. Only drug-crazed persons can savagely stab his victims, including a helpless one-year-old child, multiple times and rape them after,” Lapeña said in a statement.
Lapeña added that the killing spree all started when the suspect, after a night of drinking and shabu use, heard voices telling him to break into the house, an obvious sign of drug-induced hallucinations.
“Harsher penalties must be dealt to people like Ibañez, manufacturers, smugglers, pushers and all the more coddlers and protectors of illegal drugs in the country, both foreign and domestic, who were proven guilty in court,” he said.
The Justice Department has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate and build up a case against the perpetrators of the Bulacan massacre.
Aguirre said he ordered the parallel probe to take a second look at the findings of the Philippine National Police.
On June 27, 2017, Estrella Carlos, her daughter Aurora and three children were killed inside their house in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.
One suspect has been arrested and admitted to the killing. Initial reports say that the suspects were high on drugs and alcohol, but a drug test on the first arrested suspect was negative. With PNA