Bilibid: The drug trade epicenter

GONE are the days when being sent to national penitentiary, the New Bilibid Prison – or “Bilibid” as it is more popularly referred to – was a dreaded punishment for criminals. The Bilibid we knew has been transformed into a posh resort for moneyed drug lords who have made the national penitentiary the epicenter for the country’s drug trade.

That these illegal activities flourish inside what is supposed to be the country’s most secure facility for convicted criminals is undeniable evidence of the pervasive corruption infecting our penal institutions. In fact, the joke doing the rounds of social media is that the drug lords prefer being in Bilibid because aside from the fact that they can no longer be arrested for their illicit drug operations, they even have topnotch 24-hour security paid for by Filipino taxpayers.