‘Bilibid’ practices being tolerated at the Bohol District Jail (BDJ) alarmed some provincial officials who are bent on initiating a probe.
The controversy arose after the former wife of a detainee at the BDJ alerted the media how her former husband managed to contact her.
The woman was the former wife of Armando Digal, a detainee facing drug charges.
She squealed that Digal was still able to contact her through cellphone while inside the jail.
The former wife said the detainee had been threatening her and felt harassed by such act.
On this, she warned that she would report the incident to higher BJMP officials if it allowed to go on.
The NBI-Bohol team intercepted Digal in an operation on June 7 in barangay Jimilian, Loboc.
During the operation, the NBI team confiscated five medium-size sachets of shabu and another pack of shabu in a big sachet with estimated weight of 11.3421 grams and estimated value of around P200,000 from Digal.
Digal also yielded 16 live ammunitions of caliber 45, two magazines, one Colt caliber .45 pistol with serial no. 527492, four identification cards, cash amounting to P6,810 in different denominations.
Digal is now facing charges of violations of RA 9165 based on section 11 under Article 11, and Republic Act 10591 or the New Firearms Law under sections 28 and 32 in relation to the Comelec gun ban.
Digal, a relative of Erico Digal- -tagged as druglord based in Carmen, had also served as the latter’s driver.
On October 1, the composite police team from the Regional Special Operations Group (RSOG), Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group (RAIDSOTG), Carmen police station, and the Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB) raided the ancestral residence of Carmen-based druglord, Erico Digal, and his younger brother, Romeo.
However, Erico had already left for another country and only Romeo was arrested.
The composite police team confiscated two “bulto†size of shabu worth of P59,000 and bundles of cash amounting to P1.4 million during the raid.
The police officers also confiscated a .38-caliber revolver loaded with six .357 ammunitions, a fragmentation grenade, and a rifle which turned out to be an Airsoft gun that resembled an M4 rifle.
Noting on the profiles of the people surrounding Armando, his former wife warned that what sparked the controversy at the New Bilibid Prison involving high-profile drug personalities might be taking form at the BDJ.
The first indications started with access to communication gadgets provided to high-profile detainees, she hinted.