MANILA – Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officials charged P500 for the entry of a cellphone and P1,000 for smuggling a television inside the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, inmate Godfrey Gamboa said.
Gamboa – who was sentenced to four years in prison for falsifying public documents – added during the Senate Blue Ribbon and Justice committee hearing that payoffs are rampant inside the national penitentiary, on top of the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) law scandal.
“Kung cellphone, depende sa klase ng telepono, kung touchscreen o keypad, P500 sa gwardiya,” Gamboa said. “Kung television naman ang gusto ipasok ay may one-time payment na P1,000.”
Gamboa added inmates paid for conjugal visits during the previous BuCor chiefs, while cigarettes were smuggled inside the national penitentiary for high cost.
“Sa naririnig ko dati may bayad ang conjugal visit po pero nung naging si Sen. Bato (Dela Rosa) at si Sir (Nicanor) Faeldon (na ang BuCor director), wala na po,” Gamboa said.
“Pasukan po ng sigarilyo, ginto po, mahal po. (Ang droga) wala po sa minimum (security). Ang kinukwento ko ngayon from medium to minimum (security) kasi doon ako galing,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gamboa’s wife Yolanda Camelon said the amount being asked by the BuCor officials in exchange for the early release of inmates depends on the prisoner’s social standing.
“Sa obserbasyon ko po, (ang presyuhan sa GTCA ay) depende po sa katayuan ng buhay,” said Camelon, who earlier said BuCor officials asked P50,000 in exchange for her husband’s early release.
“Puwede nating isipin na sa ibang mga inmates hindi lang P50,000 ‘yung hihingiin,” she added. “(‘Yung sa akin) sinabi ko na hindi ko kaya ‘yung mga ganung amount, kaya nagsabi sila na kahit ‘yung P50,000 ay okay na.”/PN
