Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday said a Senate investigation must be launched into the Bureau of Corrections’ (BuCor) construction of a wall in Barangay Poblacion in Muntinlupa.
In Senate Resolution No. 957, De Lima said she wanted to look into the possible violation in the failure of BuCor to follow ordinances and rights of citizens, who were blocked access to the city proper due to the wall.
“BuCor and its officials apparently acted beyond the scope of their authority when they pursued the construction of the wall and eventual destruction of road and bridge without prior notice to the City Government and Barangay having jurisdiction over the disputed area,” she said in a dispatch from Camp Crame.
“The Senate must look into whether existing laws have been violated in the construction of the said wall which did not only disregard the local government but as well as the rights of the residents who have been left traversing unsafe and unlighted pathways, and have been reduced to avail of transportation services at a hefty cost,” she added.
Further, De Lima wanted to determine if the road closure order had been made in excess of jurisdiction in the mandate of BuCor.
“In insisting that the closure is necessary for security and safety, questions should be raised as to whether the BuCor is openly admitting that its monitoring and control over the NBP [New Bilibid Prison] is so insufficient that it has necessitated the sealing off of residents within the villages concerned,” she said.
On November 26, BuCor put up a wall to close Insular Prison Road in Muntinlupa City, with the aim of stopping illegal activities at the NBP camp.
Muntinlupa City Mayor Jimmy Fresnedi, however, said BuCor built the wall in secret, and that the wall blocked blocking teachers’ and students’ route to the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa and Muntinlupa National High School.
The Department of Justice ordered BuCor Director General Gerald Bantag to halt further action on the wall or bridge.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra last week said that BuCor will remove the wall once the control gate is set up. — BM, GMA News
De Lima eyes probe into BuCor wall construction in Muntinlupa
Source: Pinoy Hub News
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