MANILA (UPDATED) — Inmates at the New Bilibid Prison on Wednesday surrendered some 12,000 contraband items, including illegal drugs, cellphones, weapons, and liquor.

The items that the inmates turned over to the Bureau of Corrections during the "Oplan Paglilinis" raids also included laptops, gambling materials, cigarettes, and around 7,500 cans of beer.

Each can of beer is smuggled into the national penitentiary's Maximum Security Compound for P1,000, said BuCor officer-in-charge Gregorio Catapang Jr., citing information from inmates.

Various contraband items were surrendered by inmates at the NBP on Wednesday. Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News

Various contraband items were surrendered by inmates at the NBP on Wednesday. Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News

Various contraband items were surrendered by inmates at the NBP on Wednesday. Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News

Various contraband items were surrendered by inmates at the NBP on Wednesday. Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News

"First time na nakapasok nang ganiyan karami. Parang nag-deliver ng truck," Catapang said at a press conference.

(This is the first time that that amount of contraband slipped past Bilibid's security. It seemed like a truck delivered them.)

Catapang said several people were tagged in the deliveries, but he could not disclose names since an investigation is underway.

He said some officers will be relieved of their duties over the incident.

"Uunahin kong i-reform ang mga tao ko (I will first reform those who are under my watch). I want them to be responsive and responsible," he said.

BuCor Directorate for Administration director S/Supt. Geraldo Aro, for his part, said: "It was during the time of personnel of the BJMP on seconded status. They were the ones in charge of the maximum and medium security… Not all are BJMP personnel. We are still in the process of investigating."

The BuCor OIC said he will implement a one-strike policy on corrupt personnel.

Catapang explained that he made the move to ask inmates to surrender illegal items after the findings of forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun showed that there were traces of drugs in the remains of Jun Villamor, the alleged middleman in the killing of journalist Percival "Percy Lapid" Mabasa.

He added the confiscated cellphones from the inmates will undergo a forensic examination to determine if any of these belong to Villamor.

So far, the BuCor has turned over 13 inmates deemed persons of interest in the Lapid murder case to the Department of Justice.

Meanwhile, Catapang declined to comment on the accusations made by suspended BuCor chief Gerald Bantag against him.

“I don’t need to answer all of those. Ma-out of focus pa ako sa trabaho ko. Malinis ang konsensya ko bakit ako napunta dito,” Catapang said.

“Good luck. ‘Yun lang. Good luck sa hinaharap niyang problema,” he told Bantag.

Catapang was designated as OIC after the suspension of Bantag to give way to an investigation into the death of Villamor.

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Villamor died hours after alleged gunman Joel Escorial told reporters he shot dead Mabasa upon the order of someone allegedly from Bilibid. Escorial did not name the mastermind nor the motive in the killing, but he confirmed Villamor was a middleman in the murder plot.

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A second, independent autopsy on Villamor concluded that he died from plastic bag suffocation. Traces of shabu were also found in his body.

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