The Bureau of Corrections (BoC) has deployed elite police commandos to reinforce security at a prison facility in Mindoro, officials have confirmed.

Seventy-six members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) have been stationed at Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro province, following concerns about security protocols at the facility.

The deployment was rushed amid an ongoing transfer of inmates with drug-related convictions to the Mindoro facility, under directives from Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.

“These highly trained officers will enhance our existing security measures,” Bureau of Corrections Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr told media.

A coordinated operation at the prison involving multiple law enforcement agencies uncovered contraband including mobile phones, tobacco products and improvised weapons.

Deputy Director General for Operations Gil Torralba, who is overseeing the elite unit’s integration, said the operation had been “executed effectively”.

The task force conducting the raid, codenamed “Sanib-Pwersa”, included personnel from the Bureau of Corrections, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, National Bureau of Investigation, and the PNP-SAF.

Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm is one of seven operating prisons and penal farms under the Bureau of Corrections’ jurisdiction in the country.

(File photo courtesy of BoC)