MANILA — Some 1,000 personnel of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa have been relieved from their posts following a gang fight inside the state penitentiary that left an inmate dead and 9 others injured.

NBP deputy director Angelina Bautista said that the staff members were sacked for allegedly "conniving" with inmates. Among those relieved were the camp commander and officers who were on duty when the fight broke out.

"Ngayon po nadagdagan natin ang mga personnel na magbabantay sa maximum [security] compound," Bautista told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.

(We have deployed additional personnel to guard the maximum security compound.)

The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) earlier said the incident stemmed from two members of the Bahala Na Gang and Batang City Jail who had a quarrel that was eventually settled before they parted ways. But one of the inmates pulled out a gun and started shooting, injuring fellow inmates.

During the commotion, another inmate was stabbed with an ice pick, killing him. But authorities are still confirming if the stabbing had anything to do with the fight.

• Bilibid under red alert after prison fight leaves 1 dead

Bautista admitted that they have yet to determine which of the inmates started shooting.

A caliber .45 handgun with 12 rounds of ammunition was recovered after the fight, but Bautista said they have yet to determine if the gun had been used in the shooting.

She also said that authorities were also looking into how inmates managed to smuggle firearms into the NBP, even with K-9 dogs deployed at the state prison's gates.

Asked if she was convinced that the shooting was a result of an inside job, Bautista said that was one of the angles authorities were looking into.

"Iyan po yung tinitingnan nating anggulo, iyan pong kontrabando nga po, nakakapasok dito sa [NBP] personnel," she said.

(That's an angle we're looking into. We believe that personnel are involved in letting these contrabands slip into the prison.)

The state penitentiary has since been placed under red alert.

MISSING INMATE

Meanwhile, Bautista said that they are also investigating the disappearance of another inmate, 25-year-old Michael Cataroja, who has been missing since July 15.

"Wala po kasi kaming makuha sa initial investigation na tumakas nga po siya," she said.

(We could not get any leads from our initial investigation that Cataroja may have escaped.)

But ACT-CIS Party-List Rep. Erwin Tulfo, citing a source, said that Cataroja has allegedly been missing since the "first week of June."

Tulfo and his fellow ACT-CIS solons Jocelyn Tulfo and Edvic Yap have filed a resolution calling for a congressional probe into the disappearance.

— With a report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

RELATED VIDEO:

Watch more News on iWantTFC