3 dead and 64 injured in riots in Bilibid – The Manila Times



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THREE inmates were killed and another 64 injured when rival gangs clashed again inside New Bilibid prison in the city of Muntinlupa on Monday.

It was the second bloody riot at the penitentiary in just over a month. On October 9, nine inmates were killed while members of the Sputnik and Sigue-Sigue gangs were fighting.

Ready for trouble Armed staff at the Corrections Office prepare to secure the entrance to New Bilibid Prison on November 9, 2020 after a riot broke out in the facility’s maximum security compound. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN

The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) in a statement said members of the same groups were involved in the riot at the Maximum Security Complex on Monday morning.
Order was restored after about two hours, according to the office.

Three prisoners were pronounced dead upon arrival at the ng Muntinlupa Hospital. Six of the injured required hospitalization.

BuCor personnel who were at their stations during the incident were told to evacuate the national headquarters after “some members of the Task Force, who responded immediately to the incident, sustained minor injuries while suppressing the commotion.”

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he was waiting for a detailed report from BuCor.

“I will direct the NBI (National Investigation Office) to carry out a parallel investigation or expand its ongoing investigation into the previous violence,” Guevarra said, as reported by Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar.

Following the October 9 riot, BuCor launched Oplan Bura Tatak to erase gang markings to “discourage gang membership” and “lessen the culture of revenge and violence” in the prison.

BuCor also revealed that the earlier riot was “sparked due to a perceived lack of respect towards an LGBTQ member of a group.”

During that time, Deputy Director Gabriel Chaclag had said that the leaders of the two gangs “pledged” to avoid another fight.

Authorities have attributed the violence inside Bilibid to congestion. The prison has long exceeded its capacity of 17,719 inmates. By 2011, its population had almost doubled.



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