Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 23) – Guards of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) reportedly operated a GCash transaction corruption scheme within prison walls, Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla and BuCor acting director general Gregorio Catapang told reporters.
Persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) receive money from their family through GCash. Because inmates do not have phones, these GCash interactions are coursed through the prison guards.
‘
As part of the scheme, the guards would reportedly deduct a sort of tax off the transactions ranging from 12% to 20% of the total.
‘
“The GCash system in BuCor, yung mga kamag-anak na nagpapadala ng pera sa loob, kinakaltasan ng mga guard ng 12% to 20%,” Remulla said Monday.
‘
[Translation: Family members will send money to inmates and guards will deduct 12% to 20% from this.]
‘
Catapang, in a separate interview, said that PDLs had spoken up to him about the abuse: “Sa alam ko kapag ₱1,000 daw, kasi nakausap ko din yung nasa loob sabi nila ‘pwede pababaan lang? Yung ₱1,000 ang kinakaltas samin ₱100.”
‘
[Translation: I’ve spoken to some of the inmates and they said “Can the deductions be reduced? If we get ₱1,000, they take ₱100.”]
‘
He revealed that six guards had been caught participating in the scheme and were subsequently discharged from service.
‘
“Yung GCash scheme, na-discover namin ang daming pera and tinatago sa locker ng mga empleyado. Pera ng PDL ‘yon na pinapatago sa guard,” Catapang said.
‘
[Translation: We discovered that a lot of money was being hidden in the employees’ lockers. This money belongs to PDLs and was being hidden by the guards.]
‘
Over ₱300,000 was confiscated from the BuCor guards running the scheme, according to Catapang.
‘
A coping mechanism prevalent in multiple prisons
‘
Meanwhile, these schemes are run not just in the New Bilibid Prison but in multiple detention centers throughout the country, Remulla admitted.
‘
“It’s the same thing with BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology) and all the division facilities including PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency), yung corruption sa loob, lalo na sa PDLs [The corruption inside especially among PDLs],” Remulla said. “At first glance, pagpasok nila inaabuso na kaagad ang PDL natin [our PDLs are immediately abused upon detention].”
‘
Remulla described the GCash scheme as one of the “coping mechanisms” taken by members of the correctional system to deal with the poor living conditions, a notable one being malnutrition.
‘
“Malnutrition is really a general condition here. The coping mechanisms that people adjust to have brought up crime within the system, one example is the GCash system,” Remulla said.
‘
“It’s so prevalent we don’t really know how to start with the investigation…we will rationalize it. Basta ang mahalaga, i-ayos ang pagpapakain sa mga tao [What’s important is that we fix how we feed our people]. Malnutrition is an endemic problem here which is why these coping mechanisms give way to crime,” he added.
‘
Remulla also said that PDLs have a daily food budget of only about ₱70.
‘
Related:
Ex-BuCor official reveals ‘money-making’ schemes in Bilibid
‘Unholy alliances’ between inmates, jail guards make Bilibid a hotbed of corruption
