Three days after a combat-trained police force was put in charge of New Bilibid Prison (NBP), reports of maltreatment have reached the Catholic priest who ministers to the inmates.
Msgr. Roberto Olaguer, the NBP chaplain, said many inmates had complained that their new guards from the Special Action Force (SAF) were using violence to enforce prison rules.
He said a SAF officer allegedly punched a prisoner in the stomach for not wearing the orange NBP uniform. Another inmate also took a punch just for saying 鈥済ood morning鈥� to an officer, while a Muslim inmate was called out for sporting a beard, which a SAF member allegedly pulled.
鈥淭hese are just things that have been shared with me; I did not see these incidents for myself, so I still have to verify if they are true,鈥� Olaguer said in an interview on Saturday.
Awakened at 3 a.m.
鈥淪ome [inmates] told me that they were roused from sleep by the SAF around 3 a.m. just to check if they were wearing their uniforms while inside their cells. But it鈥檚 just natural for some inmates to not wear shirts while sleeping because of the heat.鈥�
Since the SAF took over on Wednesday, visiting schedules have also been disrupted, with the inmates鈥� families unable to enter despite being promised a 30-minute pass by NBP Supt.聽 Roberto Rabo, the priest said. 鈥淚t seems the SAF aren鈥檛 answering [to Rabo].鈥�
Reached for comment, Chief Supt. Benjamin Lusa, the head of the SAF battalion assigned to NBP, denied the allegations against his men. 鈥淭hat is not true. We don鈥檛 do that. We are professional police officers.鈥�
鈥楧ue respect, courtesy鈥�
Despite the strict orders聽 for them to secure Bilibid, it is also in their mandate to treat the prisoners with 鈥渄ue respect and courtesy,鈥� Lusa said on the phone.
Olaguer said he himself had felt the SAF鈥檚 strictness when he was almost barred from entering the prison facility in Muntinlupa City because he forgot to wear his ID.
As to the visitors being barred since Wednesday, Lusa explained that this was only due to ongoing operations inside the prison, particularly at the maximum security compound, to rid the buildings of contraband.
He did not give a specific answer when asked how long the operations would last, citing the large NBP area they still have to cover.
Meanwhile, Olaguer said, the 217 guards from the Bureau of Corrections who were replaced by the SAF were 鈥渄emoralized鈥� because they felt they were 鈥渂randed as scalawags.鈥� The BuCor guards are currently undergoing 鈥渞etraining鈥� at Camp Vicente Lim, Calamba, Laguna, he said.