BESIDES the elite Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police (PNP), battle-tested Marines will also be deployed to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa, which has allegedly been converted into a “drug hub” by convicted drug lords, a military official said Thursday.

Col. Edgard Arevalo, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Affairs Office, made the disclosure after Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre revealed that Marine Maj. Gen. Alexander Balutan was assigned to head the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).