THE Department of Justice (DoJ) will be looking into security breaches in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) after an IED exploded in the maximum security compound on Friday morning.

Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra confirmed there was an explosion at the eastern portion of the maximum security compound of the NBP. He added that he will be ordering Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gerald Bantag to submit the findings on BuCor’s investigation to him.

Other than the BuCor, the Philippine National Police (PNP) contingent stationed inside the NBP will also be conducting an investigation.

“(I)t’s an indication of how serious the security problem is inside the NBP,” Mr. Guevarra said in a Viber message to the press on Friday.

According to a National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) report released on Friday, there was an explosion inside the NBP at around 10 a.m. The NCRPO’s K9 team checked the site and found the remains of an improvised explosive device (IED).

As the search continued for a possible second device, the unit found two grenade hands and two blasting caps inside the shanties adjacent to the explosion site.

The explosion site, according to the report, “was occupied by violent extremist offenders,” including members of the Abu Sayyaf, Maute Isis, Rajah Solaiman Group, Jimaah Islamiya, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. — Gillian M. Cortez

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