The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) on Monday deployed 30 trained police dogs or also known as K-9 in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to prevent the smuggling of contraband.
Of the 30 police dogs, five were trained to detect bombs while the rest could find illegal drugs and cellular phones.
In a press conference, BuCor officer-in-charge Gregorio Catapang said the K-9 deployment is part of his reforms for the NBP.
Apart from this, he said they would install high-tech equipments to further upgrade the NBP’s security system. These include installment of signal jammers, CCTV cameras, metal detectors, and scanners.
He said the CCTV camera to be installed is one that has facial recognition.
“Of course, hopefully pati ang mga inmates ay may facial recognition para kapag dadaan sila doon sa machine, then they will be accounted for,“ Catapang added.
The BuCor OIC also said that they are mulling the establishment of a command center wherein they could monitor all movements inside the prison facility.
“The technology will guard the guardians. Katulad sa AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines], may command center. Lahat ng tao na nagdu-duty, nakikita ko sila sa screen. Quadrant one, sino nag du-duty diyan? Quadrant two, three, four…“ Catapang said.
“For what I lack in personnel, I will compensate through technology. This would be a technology-driven security system that we will implement,“ he said.
Earlier this month, BuCor had seized thousands of beer, illegal drugs, communication devices such as laptops and cellphones, deadly weapons, cigarettes, and gambling materials.
