MANILA — Drugs will remain a problem in the New Bilibid Prison as long as gang system prevails inside the state penitentiary, a prison reform advocate said Tuesday.

Despite efforts to curb illegal activities, it's "disheartening" that there has been no let up to the smuggling of prohibited items inside NBP, said Raymund Narag, an assistant professor at the School of Justice and Public Safety in Southern Illinois University.

"The proof na merong shabu sa katawan ng namatay indeed shows na it's very intractable 'yung problema," he told ANC's "Rundown", referring to an alleged middleman in the slay of journalist Percival Mabasa who went by the name Percy Lapid in his radio show.

(The proof that there is drugs in the body of an inmate who died shows that the problem is very intractable.)

The alleged middleman Jun Villamor, an inmate at the NBP, died hours after a gunman on Oct. 18 confessed to shooting dead Mabasa on the order of someone from Bilibid. A second, independent autopsy on Villamor recently found traces of methamphetamine or shabu in his body.

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Because the prison is overcrowded, undermanned and under-resourced, Narag said the NBP administration is still dependent on the gang system. The prison is maintained by the Bureau of Corrections.

"When these are the structures that you depend on, then palaging may problema tayo na ganito. May malulusutan at mayroon makakapasok na contraband sa loob ng Bilibid," he said.

(When these are the structures that you depend on, we will always have a problem. Contraband items will always slip past us and into the Bilibid.)

While the gang system helps in managing inmates, it becomes a problem in bigger prisons such as NBP, he added.

• Marcos Jr. not convinced Percy Lapid slay middleman died of natural causes

Narag said he had urged the Philippine government to develop smaller and regional prison facilities that could hold up to 800 inmates.

"I think that's one of the ways na mabasag natin 'yung criminogenic culture na na-develop sa New Bilibid Prison," he said.

"Kahit na anong galing ng mga empleyado diyan, kahit anong dami ng aso na gagamitin natin para sa paggagalugad, kahit anong electronic monitoring system natin, hindi kakayanin kasi it's very much rooted na sa pamamahala ng kulungan 'yung nangyari sa Bilibid," he added.

(I think that's one of the ways we can break the criminogenic culture that developed in the New Bilibid Prison. No matter how good the employees, how many K9 units we deploy, no matter what electronic monitoring system we use, these will not be enough because whatever happens in Bilibid is very much rooted in its management.)

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Some 29,000 inmates are serving time at the NBP, which was originally built for 6,000 detainees.

As an interim solution, Narag also proposed formalizing the mayores system that designates inmate leaders, adding that there should be a selection criteria.

"Ibibigay natin ang ilang responsibilidad sa mga inmate leaders sa pagtatakbo ng selda pero dapat ang mga empleyado pa rin ang siyang nasusunod," he added.

(We could give some of the responsibilities to inmate leaders, but employees should still be in command.)

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