There are a lot of well-organized money-making schemes inside the New Bilibid Prison

This was how a reliable Daily Tribune source described the alleged good conduct time allowance (GCTA)-for-sale scheme by unscrupulous personnel of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

“There are a lot of well-organized money-making schemes inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP),” said the source, a former ranking official of the Department of Justice (DoJ).

“There are a lot more, much bigger schemes inside. In fact, most, if not all, documents concerning the individual inmates are being taken advantage of by enterprising and corrupt NBP personnel,” the source added.

A witness who claimed that she was a victim of the alleged GCTA-for-sale said that there were really “businesses” inside the BuCor.

It was also at the NBP where high-profile inmates ran a shabu factory that was allegedly supervised by a syndicate led by detained Sen. Leila de Lima.

During an interview at the Senate, witness Yolanda Camelon claimed guards were bribed to allow contrabands and corruption in the allocation of food and other BuCor resources.

“In my point of view, our correctional system in the Philippines has become a business,” Camelon said.

She cited that the food served for the persons deprived of liberty (PDL) was not worth the amount that the government allocated for each prisoner.

She added that based on her knowledge, there are contraband that were allowed by the jail guards in exchange for money ranging from P100 to P200 per item depending on how important the item was. She said this system was removed from the BuCor system since then.

The source said that “carpeta,” which serves as the daily record of behavior of every inmate is among the “basic commodities” being sold at NBP.

“You can buy good behavior inside,” the source stressed.

During Thursday’s Senate inquiry into Republic Act 10592 or the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) Law, Camelon bared that GCTA is being sold for as low as P50,000.

She said she paid P20,000 for the GCTA of her partner who is serving prison term at the NBP.

She tagged BuCor’s Inmates Records Division chief Romancito Roque as the one she transacted with and paid the amount to facilitate the release by virtue of GCTA.

The appearance of Camelon was an offshoot of the Senate inquiry into the botched release of convicted rapist and murderer former Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez also by virtue of the GCTA Law.

During the course of the hearing, erstwhile BuCor director general Nicanor Faeldon admitted that a total of 1,914 heinous crime convicts had been freed from NBP under GCTA.

Faeldon has been sacked by President Rodrigo Duterte for the botched release of Sanchez.

He admitted signing a memorandum of release for Sanchez.

“The Senate is on the right track. Hopefully, they will pursue this inquiry to expose the other existing money-making schemes,” the source told the Daily Tribune.

“They can check the subsistence and medical allowance of the inmates. Check the actual food and medicines being provided to the PDL (persons deprived of liberty),” he added.

The source, who is privy to the NBP operations, said these are just the regular transactions that serve as milking cows of corrupt BuCor personnel.

“There are no irregularities at first glance, but careful study of the procurement system will show otherwise,” the source explained.

Under the 2020 proposed national budget, the BuCor is asking an additional P15 for the daily subsistence and medical allowance of assumed 47,010 inmates in all its penal facilities throughout the country.

“There are a lot of prisoners from the maximum (security compound) that were being released first than those who are in the minimum (security compound). They may release from the minimum (security compound), but they are only freeing one or two persons,” she added.

On Friday morning, Senator Panfilo Lacson also claimed that the alleged GCTA-for-sale even reached P1.5 million per prisoner.

During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Thursday night, Camelon claimed that she paid Roque through a deal offered by correctional officers Maribel Bansil and Veronica Buno.

Roque denied Camelon’s allegations, explaining that he returned the money that was negotiated by the inmate’s common-law wife and Bansil.

Moreover, Camelon urged to hold all the BuCor officials involved in the GCTA-for-sale accountable.

She said even before Faeldon held his position, the corruption has already been existing in the bureau.

“They should be removed and held accountable because if there is a higher official that was held liable by the President for the corruption, then the same should be punished against them,” Camelon said.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said a preventive suspension was the lightest punishment imposed against the involved officials.

“At the very least they should be suspended immediately because the purpose of the preventive suspension is to prevent you from monkeying around with the good records in your possession,” Drilon said in a television interview.

Meanwhile, Camelon urged the other victims to speak up and reveal the anomalies happening inside the BuCor to end the said corruption in the bureau.

“If you were really a victim like me, do not let your fear overcome you because it will be always there. We cannot cure this if we will not speak up and even if other people take the position, if we will not remove (these officials) and we will not speak up, nothing will happen. The system inside will stay the same,” she said.

For now, Camelon said her common-law husband was informed of her testimonies in the Senate.

The Senate panel will continue the investigation on Monday at 10 a.m.

Despite dismissed BuCor chief Faeldon not being linked thus far into the alleged sale of GCTA based on Camelon’s testimony, Sen. Richard Gordon said he was not yet free from accountability.

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairman said in a phone interview that Faeldon may still be held liable for letting Correctional Supt. Maria Fe Marquez to sign release orders on his behalf.

“Not yet. I am not finding evidence against him but overall, the way he ran the bureau, he may have liability there. Grave abuse of discretion. For example, when he let his subordinate sign the release or the haphazard way of Sanchez’s release, which he doesn’t admit,” Gordon told reporters.