Bureau of Immigration Bicutan Detention Center

The Bureau of Immigration Bicutan Detention Center (BI–Bicutan)[4] is the principal immigration detention center administered by the Bureau of Immigration of the Philippines. Located inside Camp Bagong Diwa, in Lower Bicutan, Taguig, the facility is known internally as the Warden Facility and Protection Unit (WFPU).[5] However, in press releases and public statements, the Bureau variously refers to the facility as being a "jail",[6] "warden facility"[6] or "detention center".[7] The function of the facility is to hold foreign detainees who are awaiting deportation, for example, because they have pending criminal cases, or because they have allegedly overstayed their visas.

Bureau of Immigration Bicutan Detention Center
The gate of Camp Bagong Diwa, within which the Bicutan Detention Center sits.
LocationCamp Bagong Diwa, Lower Bicutan, Taguig, Metro Manila
Coordinates14°29′05″N 121°03′19″E
StatusOperational
Security classImmigration detention center
Capacity140[1]
Population418[1] (as of April 2020)
Former nameBID Detention Center[2]
Managed byBureau of Immigration
DirectorCommissioner Jaime Morente
WardenOIC Remiecar C. Caguiron[3]
CityTaguig
Postal code1632
CountryPhilippines

Perennially overcrowded,[1][8][9] it has been accused of widespread human rights abuses[10][9] and has been compared to a gulag by The Manila Times.[11] As an administrative detention center, there is no constitutional right to bail from BI–Bicutan,[12] and some detainees have spent upwards of ten years there, neither convicted of a crime nor deported from the country.[13]

Foundation

The Philippine government only became interested in regulating the length of stay of all aliens during the American colonial period.[14] In 1932, an immigration detention center was built on Engineer Island,[15][16] now known as Baseco. In March 1955, more than 100 Chinese detainees staged a hunger strike there.[17] The Engineer Island Detention Center closed on 14 June 1975, and the 22 detainees were detained instead at Fort Bonifacio.[18]

The site of the current BI–Bicutan was built during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos as a political prison;[13] Camp Bagong Diwa housed many units of political prisoners under Marcos.[19] After the collapse of the Marcos regime, incoming President Corazon Aquino began to free the political prisoners held at the camp.[20] BI–Bicutan has fulfilled its current role since at least May 1999, when the Bureau of Immigration detained Ma Jing, a Chinese national, there, and the Supreme Court of the Philippines upheld the detention center's role as legal.[2] By 2002, it already had a population of 140 detainees.[21]

Located inside Camp Bagong Diwa, in Lower Bicutan, Taguig, the facility has since its founding been known internally variously as the Warden Facility and Protection Unit (WFPU)[5] and the BI Warden Facility (BIWF).[22] In its press releases and public statements, the Bureau variously refers to the facility as being a "jail", "warden facility"[6] or "detention center",[7] sometimes using multiple descriptions in the same statement.[6]

Functions

The function of BI–Bicutan within the Philippine immigration system is to detain foreign aliens, who are awaiting deportation for one of four main reasons:

  • A country with which the Philippines has an extradition treaty requests extradition of an alien to face criminal charges in that country. (In April 2020, this represented only 10% of all foreign detainees.)[1]
  • The Bureau of Immigration itself declares an alien "undesirable", and moves to arrest and deport the alien. The alien need not have broken any law; the executive branch, via the Bureau, has full power to determine undesirability via a quasi-judicial proceeding; this power is vested in both the President of the Philippines and the Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration.[23]
  • The Bureau of Immigration accuses an alien of breaking immigration law, for example by overstaying their visa or working without a permit, before its own Board of Commissioners, and moves to deport the alien on that basis.[24]
  • The alien has a pending criminal case, or "derogatory record". The Bureau of Immigration is copied on arrest warrants of foreigners, and may detain an alien as undesirable pending the outcome of their criminal case, even if the alien manages to bail themselves out of a Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-managed jail.[25] The Bureau does neither renew nor implement visas of aliens with "derogatory records",[26] so if their visa expires while they wait on a verdict, they can be detained for overstaying their visa, despite being ordered to do so as part of their conditions of bail by a Regional Trial Court (RTC). Even if found innocent at RTC, the Bureau may, legally, and at its discretion, deport the alien for the overstay;[9]:@2:42 however, as of 2016 it, in at least one case, instead charges a fine if innocence is determined at RTC.[27]

Conditions

BI–Bicutan is notorious for its squalid conditions.[11][13][9] Designed only to hold a maximum of 140 detainees, the facility in May 2020 held over 400 detainees, an overcrowding rate of ≥285%.[8]

On a fact-finding mission conducted by Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) in September 2016 and accepted as a submission by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at a time when BI–Bicutan held 147 detainees, the conditions were described as "appalling", the provided food as "meager rations" which detainees supplement with their own money; a complete lack of medical care was also noted.[10][28]

A report by Howard Johnson, a BBC correspondent, on Victoria Derbyshire, noted the center's overcrowding, rat infestation, and "lack of basic facilities". In interviews conducted by Johnson, former and current detainees alleged being denied food, being locked in small cages, and suffering illness due to pests, and showed evidence of such allegations that they captured with smuggled cell phones.[9]

In May 2019, British ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce personally visited BI–Bicutan. He, and the European Union ambassador to the Philippines, at that time raised the issue with Filipino authorities of the "overcrowded", deprived conditions Britons and other foreign detainees were being held in.[9]:@5:00

Male and female detainees are segregated by sex, but at least as of 2007, male guards oversee both.[29]

Bail

Immigration bail may only be granted by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration, as of 2020, Jaime Morente; RTC judges may not grant immigration bail, and while aliens have similar rights to Filipino citizens in acquiring bail from police custody and BJMP-managed jails, the Constitution of the Philippines does not guarantee a right to immigration bail.[12]

Such bail, if ever granted, is usually granted on the advice of the Bureau's legal department, but this is not required, and the Commissioner frequently rejects bail applications even with the backing of the Bureau's lower offices.[30] As of 2019, immigration bail was extremely difficult to acquire, even in minor cases such as visa overstays where the aliens in question were appealing the visa overstay allegations.[30] During the 2020 Luzon enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, such bail became only marginally easier to acquire, as the overcrowded conditions provide a ready host for the virus.[1] By 14 May, months into the ECQ, only two pregnant women had been granted immigration bail.[8]

Corruption allegations

In an analogous situation to the New Bilibid Prison,[31][32] numerous high-profile allegations of corruption have been made, and wardens relieved of their duty for corruption.

Ramon Tulfo, a journalist at The Manila Times, in April 2019 used his column to allow a former detainee to write a piece; in it he alleged that BI–Bicutan officials frequently demand bribes from detainees to affect their release.[33] Similar accusations were made by foreign detainees to the South China Morning Post, including by one Greek man who alleged that bribes of US$100,000 were demanded from him.[13]

After a raid in April 2019, BI–Bicutan's then-warden Niño Oliver Dato was relieved of his duty for allowing some detainees to operate illegal online gambling websites from inside the facility;[34] the Bureau of Immigration's Commissioner noted in a press release that he was relieved as "things had gotten worse" after a 22 January raid.[35]

Some foreign detainees who are being detained pending extradition are alleged to engage in "pay-to-stay" schemes wherein they attempt to pay off Bureau of Immigration officials to slow down their deportation; notable is the case of Wang Bo, who was alleged to have paid bribes of ₱100 million to avoid being deported and had to answer for such in a hearing before the House of Representatives of the Philippines.[36] Korean detainees who allegedly operate criminal internet businesses inside BI–Bicutan have been alleged to do so as well.[33][37]

Escapes

In 2005, three foreign detainees accused of drug trafficking escaped BI–Bicutan, which led to an investigation of guards and immigration officials.[38][39] In 2007, the United States Department of State reported that multiple detainees had gained release by paying cash bribes to guards.[29] In January 2009, BI–Bicutan's then-warden Arsenio Samson and nine others were terminated for aiding in the escape of Korean fugitive Byung Kyu Choi, wanted in Seoul for allegedly embezzling ₩400 million.[40] On 9 December 2014, American detainee Douglas Brent Jackson, awaiting deportation to the United States, sawed off the grill of a window and escaped BI–Davao, where he was temporarily being held instead of at BI–Bicutan as he had a pending estafa case.[41] He was recaptured on 18 December and held in BI–Bicutan.[42]

In October 2015, then-Commissioner Siegfried Mison said that some ten Bureau employees had accepted bribes of ₱1,000,000 from Korean fugitive Seongdae Cho, wanted for extortion in Korea, to help him escape BI–Bicutan.[43] In the case of the escape of Cho, the National Bureau of Investigation in January 2016 recommended the filing of charges against seventeen Bureau employees[44] after Cho escaped Bureau custody again.[45] In March 2017, nine guards were relieved of duty for failing to prevent the escapes of fugitives Jung Jaeyul and Park Wang Yeol, wanted for murder in Korea.[46][47]

On 31 January 2020, Song Yangrae was granted temporary leave from BI–Bicutan to be escorted by four guards to Taguig Pateros District Hospital for a medical evaluation; he escaped custody and fled to Floridablanca, and his escorts were accused of "obvious connivance" by Commissioner Morente.[48][49]

Satellite facilities

Due to the extreme overcrowding at BI–Bicutan, the Bureau of Immigration occasionally requests that other agencies of the Philippine government hold any overflow of aliens that would normally be detained at BI–Bicutan.[50] There is also a satellite facility, the Bureau of Immigration Davao Detention Center (BI–Davao).[41]

See also

References
  1. Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas (23 April 2020). "BI still determining foreign detainees eligible for bail—spokesperson". GMA News Online. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. Commissioner Rodriguez v. Judge Bonifacio, A.M. No. RTJ-99-1510, 2000-11-06, Supreme Court of the Philippines, First Division
  3. Contact Us, Bureau of Immigration—Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  4. Unserviceable Motor Vehicles (2014-03-11), Bureau of Immigration—Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  5. BI Nabs Korea's Most Wanted Swindler (2018-02-08), Press Release, Bureau of Immigration
  6. BI deports 10 more aliens detained at Bicutan jail (2020-06-30), Press Release, Bureau of Immigration
  7. BI nabs Chinese illegal miner in Mindanao (2013-11-07), Press Release, Bureau of Immigration
  8. Ramirez, Jun (14 May 2020). "159 employees/inmates at BI detention center test negative for COVID". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  9. Johnson, Howard (11 October 2019). Inside Manila's 'Gulag'-The Philippine detention centre where Britons languish in squalid conditions. Victoria Derbyshire. British Broadcasting Corporation.
  10. Summary of stakeholders' submissions-the Philippines, Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, p. 12, 27 February 2017
  11. Tulfo, Ramon (23 April 2019). "The country's version of gulag". The Manila Times. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  12. Miriam Defensor Santiago (1 January 1989). "Some Issues of Immigration Law in a Developing State". Michigan Journal of International Law. 10 (1): 251–265. ISSN 1052-2867.
  13. Parry, Simon (7 August 2015). "The Forgotten: Life inside notorious Philippine detention centre where inmates 'disappear' without being charged". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  14. "History". Republic of the Philippines—Bureau of Immigration. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  15. Annual Report. Philippines Bureau of Public Works. 1932. p. 20.
  16. "Unknown". Philippine Journal of Commerce. Department of Agriculture and Commerce. 8/9: 18. 1932. OCLC 1762242. Cite uses generic title (help)
  17. "Chinese Detainees in Manila". Free China Review. W.Y. Tsao. 1955. ISSN 0016-030X.
  18. Report of an Amnesty International Mission to the Republic of the Philippines, 22 November - 5 December 1975 (PDF). Nottingham, England: Amnesty International Publications. 1976. pp. 39–40. ISBN 0900058366. The people held [in cell block two] were described as 'immigration/deportation' cases. On 14 June 1975, the 22 people were transferred to their present quarters in Fort Bonifacio.
  19. "The first election". Martial Law Museum. Ateneo de Manila University. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  20. Crossette, Barbara; Times, Special To the New York (28 February 1986). "Philippines Frees 34 Held by Marcos". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  21. "Bureau of Immigration Bicutan Detention Centre (Camp Bagong Diwa)". Global Detention Project. Geneva: Open Society Foundations. 2016. Archived from the original on 31 August 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  22. Mercado, Neil Arwin (14 July 2020). "BI deports suspected American pedophile". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  23. Go Tek v. Deportation Board, G.R. No. L-23846, 1977-09-090, Supreme Court of the Philippines, Second Division
  24. "Bureau of Immigration Omnibus Rules of Procedure of 2015". Part II—(2)(7)(c), Immigration Memorandum Circular No. SBM-2015-010 of 8 October 2015 (PDF). Department of Justice.
  25. Gilbert, David (27 February 2020). "The Philippines Wants to Arrest 8chan Founder Fredrick Brennan: 'It's Basically a Death Sentence'". Vice. Retrieved 29 April 2020. Brennan is concerned that because he is a foreigner, even if he bails himself out of prison, he can be detained again by the Bureau of Immigration until his legal proceedings are finalized. If the bureau did arrest him, Brennan would likely be housed at the notorious Bicutan detention center, where foreigners are often held for months without being charged, and sometimes disappear completely.
  26. Need for derogatory record check immediately prior to visa implementation, release of passport with implemented visa and release of ACR I-Card, Republic of the Philippines—Bureau of Immigration, 2014-01-13, via Facebook
  27. Phillips, Kristine (12 August 2016). "After he beat rape charges abroad, an American could land in jail again over an expired visa". Washington Post. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  28. Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines (PDF). Brussels: Human Rights Without Frontiers, Forum for Religious Freedom Europe. pp. 6–8.
  29. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Philippines, 2006 (PDF). United States Department of State. 6 March 2007. p. 4.
  30. Tulfo, Ramon (30 April 2019). "Rescuing The Forgotten: Where to start". The Manila Times. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  31. Villanueva, Ralph Edwin (5 October 2019). "BuCor chief relieves 300 Bilibid jail guards". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  32. Gavilan, Jodesz; Buan, Lian; Talabong, Rambo (16 December 2019). "Bantag tries to slay Bilibid's old monsters, Duterte-style". Rappler. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  33. Smith, Raymond; Tulfo, Ramon (25 April 2019). "The Forgotten". The Manila Times. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  34. Ching, Anthony (1 April 2019). "Rehas Resort and Casino?". Daily Tribune. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  35. BI To Overhaul Detention Center (2019-04-01), Press Release, Bureau of Immigration
  36. Merueñas, Mark (5 August 2015). "Wang Bo to be finally deported after De Lima affirms order". GMA News Online. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  37. Martin, M. G. (26 January 2019). "Detainees respond to crackdown at Bicutan immigration detention centre". Philippines Lifestyle News. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  38. Canlas, Jomar (24 December 2005). "DOJ investigates drug traffickers". The Manila Times. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  39. Soliven, Max V. (21 December 2005). "As expected, Artemio Panganiban is the new Chief Justice!". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  40. "Warden, 5 BI jail guards sacked over Korean fugitive's escape". ABS-CBN News. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  41. Locsin, Joel (9 December 2014). "American saws off bars in Immigration jail in Davao". GMA News Online. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  42. BI Recaptures Escaped Ward (2014-12-18), Press Release, Bureau of Immigration—Republic of the Philippines.
  43. Agoncillo, Jodee A. (13 October 2015). "10 BI agents probed for 'helping Korean fugitive escape' – BI". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  44. Punay, Edu (6 January 2016). "BI chief, 17 others liable for Korean's escape – NBI". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  45. Laude, Jaime (26 October 2015). "Korean fugitive escapes jail for third time". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  46. Torres-Tupas, Tetch (7 March 2017). "BI relieves 9 guards over escape of Korean inmates". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  47. "Alien fugitives escape from BI jail". The Manila Times. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  48. Morallos, Froi (7 February 2020). "Korean national hina-hunting ni BI". Pilipino Mirror (in Tagalog). Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  49. "Immigration bureau orders manhunt for Korean fugitive". ABS-CBN News. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  50. Lolo, Raymart (14 October 2019). "Bigger BI detention center for aliens". Daily Tribune. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
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