The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said the “quad-intel force” in Metro Manila will provide Bureau of Corrections (Bucor) Director-General Gerald Bantag the names of BuCor personnel involved in the operation of convicted drug lords inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
NCRPO director, Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, said the names of the BuCor personnel and the NBP inmates are based on the information and intelligence reports obtained by the quad-intel force, composed of the NCRPO, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-NCR, National Bureau of Investigation-NCR and the Joint Task Force-NCR of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
He said that the names of inmates on the drug list will also be given to Bantag, who will craft security measures to deny them the opportunity to continuously supervise the operation of their respective syndicates despite being detained at the Bilibid.
“Ito ay bahagi ng tulong ng Quad-Intel Force sa malawakang reporma ni Director-General Bantag sa NBP. Kung ang mga inmates na ito ay patuloy ang kanilang operasyon sa Bilibid sa tulong ng mga tiwaling personnel, ang mga mamamayan lalong lalo na sa Metro Manila ang patuloy na magdudusa sa paglaganap ng droga at mga krimen (This is part of the assistance from the Quad-Intel Force to the wide reforms of Director General Bantag at the NBP. If the inmates will continue with their illegal activities at the Bilibid with the help of corrupt personnel, the people, especially residents of Metro Manila will continue to suffer from the prevalence of illegal drugs and crime),” Eleazar said in a statement sent to reporters.
Eleazar, explained that providing the names of the BuCor personnel and NBP inmates is the quad-intel force’s contribution to the vetting process initiated by Bantag.
Eleazar, however, did not elaborate on how many BuCor personnel and inmates are on the list because of the confidentiality of the information.
“Ang importante dito ay ang magandang koordinasyon at pagtutulungan ng lahat ng law enforcement agency para matapos na ang problema sa droga dahil ito ang utos ng Pangulong Duterte (What matters here is the good coordination and cooperation of every law enforcement agency to end the illegal drug menace in compliance with President Rodrigo Duterte’s order),” he said.
It was Eleazar who initiated the alliance of four law enforcement agencies in Metro Manila amid criticisms of lack of coordination that failed illegal drug operations.
The quad-intel force will provide the BuCor with information about the criminal group operations that are possibly connected with convicted felons inside the NBP.
The BuCor, under Bantag, is currently conducting a rigid vetting process of all prison guards and personnel of the NBP over allegations of massive corruption that resulted in the continuous operation of convicted drug lords.
The NCRPO sent a total of 551 augmentation force to the NBP to help secure the detention facility as Bantag stripped all the prison guards of duty due to corruption issues.
Bantag said they are now subjecting all NBP personnel to validation. Once the NBP personnel passed the vetting process aimed at getting rid of tainted prison guards, they will undergo a retraining program.
This is the reason, according to Bantag, why he sought manpower from NCRPO and BJMP.
“We will be hiring new recruits,” Bantag told reporters, adding that these recruits will fill in the posts that would be vacated soon by prison guards and personnel who will fail to pass the vetting process.
On Monday, NCR’s quad-intel force has put up liaison office inside the NBP which seeks to finally end the culture of corruption and stop the operations of convicted drug lords and other syndicates inside the detention facility.
He said the liaison office will serve as the eyes and ears of the quad-intel force inside the NBP against drug lords and other convicted felons who head criminal syndicates.
Eleazar said it is the first time that intelligence units of various government law enforcement agencies are allowed to set up an office at the NBP for monitoring and intelligence-sharing with the BuCor. (PNA)
