Team DailyPedia
In a media briefing on July 29, Friday, for Oplan: Digmaang Droga, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II tagged a religious group for its involvement in drug and prostitution operations inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
Oplan: Digmaang Droga (OPLAN: Drug War) is the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) ongoing campaign to put an end to the illegal drug trade inside the state penitentiary.
“I received information that some religious personnel preaching inside Bilibid are conduits of illegal drugs and prostitution… Apparently this is a bonafide religious group,” Aguirre said.
According to the DOJ Secretary, he received an intelligence report on the suspicious activity of the religious group.
“An NGO (non-government organization) and three well-meaning prison guards came to see me to share the information,” Aguirre elaborated.
Acting on the said intel, Aguirre imposed a temporary suspension of preaching and other religious activities inside the NBP. This will eventually be lifted once the situation normalizes and proper actions are taken by the authorities.
A fact-finding committee was also formed to investigate former officials in the department who reportedly earned millions in drug money coming from high-profile inmates at the New Bilibid Prison and who are allegedly involved in corruption of Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) funds.
“Umabot talaga sa DOJ — mataas (It has really reached the DOJ, the corruption has reached the top ). I don’t want to name names but we are going to come up with the results of the investigation. Nakita naman ninyo lahat kung gaano kaluwag ang treatment natin sa high-profile inmates (You have seen how loosely they manage high-profile inmates). Parang sila ang bida dun, sila talaga ang nagmamando kung ano ang nangyayari dun (They are like the heroes there, they are the ones mandating how things should go there.),”Aguirre stated.
