NBI Doubts COVID Deaths In Bilibid

Several high-profile inmates accused of drug trafficking in the New Bilibid Prison appear to have died of other causes and not from COVID as NBP officials reported, according to the National Bureau of Investigation.

The NBI is suspecting “criminal intent” in the death of some of the inmates, its Death Investigation Division (DID) found.

“The DID agents discovered that there may be a system or a way to make it appear that the inmate had COVID or died of COVID. There’s criminal intent,” NBI spokesman and concur-rent deputy director for forensic investigation service Ferdinand Lavin said, based on a report by GMA News.

Some inmates sent to Site Harry, the NBP’s designated COVID-19 quarantine center, did not even manifest symptoms after being brought there, he noted.

“They said they were positive for COVID, but when they were dead and underwent swab test, they turned out negative,” he added.

Lavin also said that based on the agency’s investigation, some NBP inmates were subjected to “medical intervention” as they were seen already inside cadaver bags as captured by the prison’s surveillance cameras. “This is indicative that they were already lifeless,” he added.

The NBI also found “inconsistencies” in the medical records of NBP inmates who supposedly died from COVID-19 as documented by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), the NBP Hospital and even the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), he added.

The NBI has filed eight counts of murder against each of the 22 personnel from NCRPO, all assigned at the NBP, he said.

Sources close to Lavin told The Philippine STAR he is currently abroad. NCRPO spokesperson Lt. Col. Jenny Tecson also did not respond to media inquiries.

In 2020, high-profile inmates including illegal drug convict Amin Imam Boratong, and carjacking and kidnapping convict and alleged NBP drug lord Jaybee Niño Sebastian reportedly died from COVID-19. Sebastian’s body was cremated shortly after his death in compliance with government policy on handling the remains of COVID-positive people.

The BuCor has repeatedly tapped cops from NCRPO as additional force in guarding the NBP inmates and in conducting raids.