Catapang: CIW ready for Veloso, Lopez

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. assured the safety of Mary Jane Veloso once she arrives in the Philippines to continue serving her sentence for drug trafficking in Indonesia.

Catapang emphasized that BuCor will ensure Veloso’s security after her family raised concerns of potential threats from international drug syndicates.

Veloso was sentenced to death in 2010 for attempting to smuggle 2.6 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia. The Indonesian government recently agreed to transfer her to the Philippines to serve the remainder of her sentence.

Upon arrival, Veloso will be initially placed at the Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC) of the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City for evaluation.

She will stay there for up to a month. “Only women are imprisoned at the CIW. There are no drug lords there,” Catapang said, noting that most drug lords are housed in the super-maximum prison in Occidental Mindoro.

After the RDC assessment, Veloso will have the option to choose her detention location, including the CIW, where she may undergo rehabilitation.

Meanwhile, Catapang expressed readiness to accommodate Zuleika Lopez, Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff, at the CIW, if ordered.

Catapang assured that Lopez would be treated fairly, like POGO personality Cassandra Ong who is currently detained at the CIW after being cited in contempt in a probe into Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.

“If Lopez is transferred, like Cassandra Ong, she will be housed in a comfortable, air-conditioned room adjacent to Ong’s,” Catapang said.

Lopez will not be mixed with regular inmates but will have a private room with 24-hour security and access to medical facilities, he added.

“Ensuring safety and security is our job,” Catapang said.