The Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights will begin Tuesday its investigation into the mass grave discovered at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
The mass grave was reportedly found inside a septic tank at the NBP’s maximum security compound.
Senator Francis Tolentino, the chairperson of the said committee, said the investigation will be done inside the national penitentiary so that key inmates involved in the recently discovered burial ground inside the NBP compound could shed light on the matter.
Last week, Tolentino filed Senate Resolution No. 70, seeking a thorough probe after a mass grave was unearthed while prison officials were searching for a missing inmate identified as Michael Angelo Cataroja who was last seen on July 14.
Tolentino’s panel would also like to look into the recent incidents at the Bureau of Correction (BuCor) that compromise the safety and security of the persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) inside the national penitentiary as well as pose danger to the lives and limbs of the prison personnel therein.
As of December 2022, records from the BuCor also showed out of the 673 registered deaths inside the NBP compound, eight of which were caused by asphyxia, one by gunshot wounds, six by stab wounds, and three by traumatic head injuries.
Last July 26, another casualty was recorded after a gang “war” broke out inside the maximum security compound. The victim, Alvin Barba, died after he was stabbed with an ice pick.
During the same riot, BuCor’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team recovered a caliber .45 pistol and 12 rounds of ammunition at the area where the gang war took place.