The Bureau of Corrections yesterday opened the office and barracks of the inter-agency collaborative groups that will pave the way for the synchronization of an anti-illegal drug campaign in and out of the state prison and penal farms.

After a short delay due to bidding requirements for the procurement of the needed equipment that will be used for the operation of the said office, BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. said, “We are all set now to work together with the common goal of solving illicit drug activities and financially disabled those behind it and paralyzed them from further engaging in the trafficking of illegal drugs."

Catapang said that 70 to 80 percent out of the more than 52,000 PDLs nationwide are in prison due to drug-related cases.

Catapang admitted that despite the stringent measures in place, the bureau continous to encounter entry of contraband such as dangerous drugs, Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals (CPECs) and drug paraphernalia, in its prison facilities. Thus, the need for collaboration with other government agencies as a vital approach to resolving the complex issues of drug use and trafficking in BuCor facilities.

Acting New Bilibid Prisons Superintendent, CCINSP Roger Boncales disclosed that based on BuCor data from January to March of this year, at least 711.76 grams of shabu and 13.54 grams of marijuana have been confiscated or recovered directly from PDLs while the majority were found abandoned inside the New Bilibid Prison during their series of “Oplan Galugad.”

Aside from this, Boncales added, they also confiscated contraband from PDL's visitors like illegal drugs, cash, tobacco, cell phones, and SIM cards.

Under the Memorandum of Agreement signed by the BuCor with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Philippine National Police, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and National Bureau of Investigation, an operations center will be established inside the NBP to efficiently carry out the functions, duties, and responsibilities of the IACG and to properly execute and implement the provisions of R.A. 9165 otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

The operation center should concentrate on intelligence gathering, monitoring, and taking action to prevent drug-related activities inside the NBP and other prison facilities and penal farms.

This cooperation and close coordination among agencies is also in line with the guidance of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to fight illegal drugs and comply with Congress and Senate’s recommendations to stop illegal drugs activities in the BuCor, Catapang said.