MANILA: High-profile Bilibid inmates detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) headquarters in Manila are apparently more than willing to shell out that amount for the privilege.
In an interview with reporters, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said one of the so-called “Bilibid 19” who squealed on his fellow inmates claimed that NBI agents have been offering the detainees mobile phones for P1.5 million.
“Mukhang yung mga nakakapuslit na cellphones ay galing din sa NBI agents. Yung mga nagsi-search, yung searching team mismo ng NBI, nagsi-search kunwari, and then, mag-iiwan ng mga cellphones,” she said.
“May mga pinangalanan na iyong informant. These are the ones supposed to be in charge of the searching, kasi ang instruction ko nga, regular search, regular inspection,” De Lima added.
The inmate-informant has already been given witness protection.
De Lima said at least three NBI agents would pretend to be inspecting the Bilibid 19’s detention cells but instead would be sneaking in the mobile phones for the inmates.
Two of the agents would be the ones handing out the phones, while a third one acts a “supervisor,” meaning they could all be working for a much higher ranking official.
“I am trying to find out if these three agents are working for an official. There is an indication [that they are],” she said.
De Lima said she has already ordered the NBI agents investigated.
She admitted she did not expect the Bilibid 19 to be kept this long at the NBI headquarters, saying she thought they would have been taken out of the NBI and moved to a high-security facility inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City within months of the December 2014 raid.
Following that raid where authorities confiscated contraband items like money and sex toys, the 19 prisoners were taken out of the national penitentiary and were supposed to have been transferred to Building 14.
Since bidding for the renovation of the high-security facility has yet to be done, the 19 have to be temporarily detained at the NBI headquarters in Manila.
