Manila: A prison riot killed a high-profile convict and seriously wounded another inmate due to testify in a congressional drug inquiry early Wednesday morning inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), a senior official said.
Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Police Supt. Rolando Asuncion said convicted drug lord Tony Co was killed, and three others were wounded when the jailhouse riot erupted inside Building 14 of the maximum security compound guarded by police special forces.
Building 14 is where high-profile convicts are held, according to Justice Undersecretary Erickson Balmes.
The so-called “king” of drug lords, Jaybee Sebastian, and other inmates Peter Co and Vicente Sy were among those injured, and were rushed to Medical Center Muntinlupa for treatment, said the jail official.
Asuncion said seven to eight inmates were involved in the "rumble," adding an ice pick was recovered from the crime scene.
Balmes denied the riot was staged to kill Sebastian.
"It's just a plain riot. This is just a usual occurrence in prisons," Asuncion said.
The Bureau of Corrections is investigating the incident, including reviewing the CCTV footage.
Not just any prison riot?
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Wednesday morning raised suspicion over prison riot, saying it’s possible “some forces” do not want inmate Jaybee Sebastian to testify.
“That is sad because apparently there are forces who don't want Jaybee Sebastian to testify. We will see the motive of those who don't want the truth to come out. The intended resource person mentioned in the hearing was targeted,” the local media quoted Alvarez as saying.
Sebastian was initially slated to appear in the House probe, but Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said they can do away without Sebastian’s testimony
House committee probe on drugs
The House Committee on Justice is conducting a probe on the illegal drug trade inside Bilibid.
In their testimonies, the high-profile inmates at the Bilibid claimed they paid then Justice Secretary Leila De Lima millions of pesos so they could bring in illegal drugs and other banned items.
They identified Sebastian as the top drug lord inside the Bilibid.
He allegedly raised millions to fund the senatorial campaign of De Lima.
The 'Bilibid 19' at Building 14
The so-called “Bilibid 19” — drug lords who were found to be living high and continuing their illegal trade inside the national penitentiary — included Tony and Peter Co, and Sy.
After a raid in December 2014 revealed drugs, cash, and luxury items inside the areas, also known as "kubols", of these convicts they were moved to Building No. 14
Equipment like closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras were installed in the building.
On Tuesday, two high-powered signal jammers were installed inside Building 14 to make sure inmates can no longer use their smuggled cellphones which they had been using to conduct business despite a ban on these devices.
The Philippine National Police-Special Action Force took over security operations at the NBP in July.
Aguirre earlier told a House probe that despite the SAF manning Bilibid, one cannot say it's completely contraband-free.
But he also said drug transactions at the Bilibid have decreased by 90 percent since SAF troopers were deployed.
