BuCor chief wants PDEA office moved

MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director general Ronald dela Rosa has sought the transfer of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) extension office located near his quarters.

Dela Rosa cited the lack of space for his security details as the reason why he wants PDEA’s office transferred to another place within the BuCor compound in Muntinlupa City.

“My security detail  must also have their own area,” he said yesterday in a phone interview.

He denied rumors circulating that he wants PDEA agents evicted from BuCor, adding it just so happened the quarters for the BuCor chief

have been vacant for several months following the resignation of his predecessor, Benjamin delos Santos.

PDEA spokesman Derrick Arnold Carreon, in a text message, also belied the rumors.

Dela Rosa said he intends to improve the facility of BuCor, which has been neglected for a long time. He lamented that there are areas within the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) that are already dilapidated.

“The maximum security compound was built in the 1930s but there have been no significant repairs,” he said.

There are 24,600 convicts at the national penitentiary, with around 18,000 incarcerated at the maximum security compound and some 100 other high-risk inmates at Building 14.

Dela Rosa recently confronted drug convicts at the NBP and warned them to stop their illegal activities.

The former chief of the Philippine National Police vowed to end the drug trade at the NBP.