DOJ chief dares Bato: End Bilibid drug trade

Will newly appointed Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Ronald dela Rosa succeed in stamping out the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), where his predecessors failed?

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra posed this challenge to the former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, who assumed his new post as BuCor director general last Monday.

“There will be only one marching order for Chief Dela Rosa: destroy the drug machinery inside the penitentiary,” Guevara said in a text message.

Guevarra is set to meet Dela Rosa on Friday to discuss the reforms needed in the BuCor, which is under the administrative supervision of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Authorities have launched an intensified crackdown since 2016 under the Duterte administration, but resigned DOJ chief Vitaliano Aguirre II admitted last year that there was resurgence of the drug trade in the NBP.

In his first day in office, Dela Rosa appealed for the cooperation of BuCor’s officials and employees to accomplish this task.

He warned high-profile inmates in the NBP, that he will be relentless in going after those who continue their illegal activities in the national penitentiary.

The former PNP chief, who was at the center of the administration’s bloody war on drugs, also vowed to institute necessary reforms in the agency and told inmates not to be afraid of their high-profile fellow inmates who are known for wielding influence inside the NBP.

Dela Rosa said while he does not want to impose a timeline, he plans to end the illegal drug trade in the NBP “as soon as possible.”