TOP DRUG and crime lords are raising a P1-billion bounty for the
heads of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, incoming Philippine National
Police chief Ronald de la Rosa, a new senator and a prisons official.
A source told Inquirer.net that about 20 crime bosses, mostly drug
lords doing time at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), would contribute to
the kill-Duterte fund.
According to the source, who sought anonymity for obvious reasons,
earlier reports of a P50-million bounty on the heads of Duterte and De
la Rosa “are not true, but bigger.”
“Not only one person will pay, but people from different
organizations,” said the source, who has intimate knowledge of the
illegal drug trade.
“There are probably 20,” the source said, of the “main players” who
each pledged to toss P50 million into the pot, which would total P1
billion.
De la Rosa earlier said that drug lords in the NBP had offered P10
million each for his and Duterte’s heads. But there were no takers so
the bounty was raised to P50 million each.
The bounty from the drug lords came after Duterte offered rewards for
every drug lord and pusher killed. The President-elect promised P5
million for every dead drug lord, P3 million for a syndicate member and
P50,000 for a small-time pusher.
De la Rosa then issued a warning to criminals: “We will crush you. We will bury you.”
“Nasisiraan na yung mga tao sa loob. Hindi kasi nila alam kung
seseryosohin ni Digong yung sinabi niyang papatayin lahat ng drug lords
doon (The convicts are going crazy. They don’t know if Digong will
really carry out his threat to kill the drug lords in prison),” the
source said.
De Lima, too
Apart from Duterte and De la Rosa, included in the kill-list are
former justice secretary turned Senator-elect Leila de Lima and Bureau
of Corrections (BuCor) chief Ricardo Rainier Cruz III, the source said.
De Lima led the first in a series of raids at the NBP that resulted
in the discovery of moneyed inmates, mostly drug lords, living in
“suite-like” huts with appliances, hot tubs, gadgets and more.
Following the first raid, 19 high-profile inmates, including the drug
lords, were transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation while
Building 14, a highly secure facility at the NBP, was constructed.
After construction, the 19 inmates were moved back to the NBP and
imprisoned in Building 14, where they are isolated from the other
inmates.
Cruz, on the other hand, initiated “Oplan Galugad,” regular raids
conducted at the NBP to seize contraband and other prohibited items from
the inmates. More than 30 “galugads” have been conducted. He also
ordered the dismantling of huts [kubol] that housed high-profile
inmates.
Last February, Cruz dismantled a two-story structure occupied by one inmate. It was renovated to house elderly prisoners.
The source said two of the 20 prisoners who pledged to chip in for
the P1 billion were among the “Bilibid 19” currently detained at
Building 14, while two others were chemists and Filipino prisoners who
belonged to the same organization.
5:19:00 PM
