MANILA, Oct 21 (Kyodo/APP): The Philippines has unveiled a new jail that may soon accommodate numerous powerful legislators, public works officials and others implicated in a massive corruption scandal involving flood control projects, a top official said Monday.
The jail, which could hold up to 800 detainees in metropolitan Manila, was shown to the media by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla in the latest bid by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration to quell public outrage over the scandal.
The anomalies have linked dozens of Congress members, government engineers and construction company owners and sparked street protests in one of Asia’s most flood-prone countries. Remulla estimated that about 200 officials and other suspects could be indicted by the Sandiganbayan, a special anti-graft court for government officials.
That led to the decision to build a new jail to detain suspects who could be facing months or years of trial, he said.
Remulla promised that the suspects, who may include former and incumbent members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, would not be given any VIP treatment, as has happened in the past with politicians convicted of crimes.
“What we are preparing are regular jail cells,” Remulla said in a news conference. “If a shoplifter who stole a bottle of lotion worth 100 pesos ($1.7) from a shopping mall could be detained here, the ones who stole billions and billions in my view should be similarly locked up here.”
The jail comprises 80 cells, each capable of holding up to 10 inmates. Facilities include bunk beds, a shared bathroom, toilet, shower and purified drinking water. As in other detention centers, cellphones, computers and other communication gadgets are prohibited. Detainees will have access to their lawyers and an infirmary, he said.
“The same rules of the jail will apply to the rich and poor,” Remulla said.