A raid in Manila City Jail results in a standoff between inmates and authorities
The inmates demand that the raiding teams observe “jail protocol”
The Director of BJMP-NCR says the inmates used the standoff as a delaying tactic to hide prohibited items
A standoff between inmates and authorities resulted after inmates in Manila City Jail cell refused to allow authorities to enter their cell during a raid in Manila City Jail around 4:20 a.m. on Friday, January 15.
Operatives from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Special Weapons and Tactics, Philippine National Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Group and the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency staged the early morning raid under Task Force Galugad’s Oplan Greyhound after receiving tips that the jail facility has become a “virtual weapons factory” and awash with illegal drugs.
Rey Galupo, in his article for Philstar dated January 16, 2016, wrote that inmates in dormitories 9 and 10 barred the entrance to prevent the raiding teams from entering their cells. The inmates, who are members of Batang City Jail prison gang, demands that the raiding teams observe “jail protocol. The raiding teams had to negotiate before they were allowed entry.
The raiding teams found no prohibited items inside dormitories 9 and 10.
BJMP-National Capital Region Director Chief Superintendent Michael Vidamo said the inmates may have used the standoff as a delaying tactic to hide illegal items.
In dormitory 7 of the Manila City Jail that houses inmates who do not belong to any gang, the raiding teams found several contraband items including leftover shabu, appliances, batons, paddles, bladed weapons, cash and jewelry.
They also discovered that the cell of a convicted Chinese national has been turned into a “virtual hotel” with a king-sized bed, an aquarium, a karaoke machine, a touch-screen television, air cooler, mobile phones, packaging materials, bundles of cash, jewelry, drugs paraphernalia and an office table with a record book.
Vidamo vowed to place the entire Manila City Jail under investigation for its preferential treatment of some detainees like the Chinese National identified as Zhang Shu Li.