Metro Manila: An incident that erupted on Wednesday at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) has claimed at least one convict’s life, Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge P/Supt. Rolando Asuncion has said.
Convicted drug lord Tony Co was killed, and three others wounded in the fight at Building 14 of the maximum security compound where high-profile convicts are held, according to Justice Undersecretary Erickson Balmes.
The so-called king of drug lords Jaybee Sebastian, and other inmates Peter Co and Vicente Sy are among those injured. They were brought to Medical Center Muntinlupa for treatment. Co and Sebastian had to undergo surgery, reported CNN Philippines.
The hospital administrator reportedly explained the puncture wounds of the four inmates were mostly in the chest area.
Asuncion was quoted as saying that seven to eight inmates were involved in the “rumble,” adding an ice pick was recovered from the crime scene. He denied the incident was staged to kill Sebastian.
“It’s just a plain riot. This is just a usual occurrence in prisons,” Asuncion reportedly said.
The Bureau of Corrections is investigating the incident, including reviewing the CCTV footage.
House Speaker Bebot Alvarez believes the timing of the incident is questionable and doubts it is a “simple prison riot.”
“That is sad because apparently there are forces na ayaw na magtestify iyong si Jaybee Sebastian. Tignan natin ang motibo kung sino ang ayaw na malaman siguro iyong katotohanan. Targeted pa intended resource person na nabanggit sa hearing,” he was quoted as saying by CNN Philippines.
