“The big-time, convicted drug lords must be contained in an isolated island surrounded by shark-infested waters to cut them off from their contact with their syndicates,” our source quoted Justice Secretary Aguirre. He said Corregidor Island in Manila Bay and islands near existing penal colonies in Palawan, Leyte, Zamboanga and Davao could be ideal satellite island prison facilities.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II is “seriously considering” the transfer of two high-profile drug lords from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to a prison island.
Aguirre was referring to convicted drug lords Peter Co and Herbert Colangco who were among the top tier drug lords named by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Co and Colangco are high-profile inmates inside the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa City. They also belong to the so-called Bilibid 19, a group of drug convicts living a luxurious lifestyle inside the NBP. “In the long run, we are also contemplating of even transferring them to Caballo island or to an island in Palawan,” Aguirre told reporters in a press briefing at Malacañang.
“This is seriously considered, where there are no cellphone signals,” he added.
Aguirre said that without cellphones or communication, these drug syndicates could no longer operate.
“You know that, and it was validated again, that without the cellphones, no transaction whatsoever will be done inside the New Bilibid Prison by these drug lords.
Aside from Co and Colangco, Duterte also identified Peter Lim, who is reportedly behind the illegal drug trade in the Visayas. Lim was reportedly outside the country.
Aguirre reiterated his earlier pronouncement that “75 percent of the drug trades all over the country is being cooked or transacted inside the New Bilibid Prison.”
Duterte has warned Colangco and Co not to escape from prison because they would surely die.
He also threatened Lim whom he said goes in and out of the Philippines, that he would die once he returns to the country.
“Do not come back to the Philippines anymore. The moment he steps out of the plane he will die; that is my assurance to the Filipino people,” he said.
Caballo Island
Caballo is a rocky island beside Corregidor. It was where Filipino peacekeepers from Liberia were quarantined for almost a month in 2014 due to fears of an Ebola virus spread.
It is currently occupied by the Philippine Navy and is off-limits to civilians.
Colangco and Co were among 17 high-profile inmates living in luxury at the NBP during a surprise visit by then Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.
(Rappler)