NBP transfer to Nueva Ecija to push through – Aguirre

MANILA, Philippines – The transfer of the national penitentiary from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City to Laur, Nueva Ecija will definitely push through, with President Duterte giving his go-signal to the undertaking, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said yesterday.

The bidding for the contract to set up a new prison facility is set for Nov. 24, Aguirre said, adding P50 billion to P150 billion is being earmarked for the project.

The new national penitentiary is expected to be bigger with modern facilities.

The NBP was designed for 9,000 inmates but is now housing more than 24,000 convicts, mostly at the maximum-security compound.

Three groups have expressed interest in joining the bidding for the project, to be undertaken through the public-private partnership (PPP) program, Aguirre said. He did not name the three prospective bidders.

The proposed new penal complex can accommodate 26,880 prisoners, and will have modern facilities like staff housing and administrative buildings, as well as areas for sports, work and religious activities.

State-of-the-art security facilities would also be put in place in the new prison complex.

A number of supporting accommodation and building-related services may be outsourced as part of the PPP agreement, such as laundry, waste treatment and disposal, sewage water treatment and power generation.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is preparing amendments to the law creating the Bureau of Corrections. The amendments are aimed at overhauling the entire prison system to prevent a repeat of unabated drug trade inside the national penitentiary.

“We have to amend the BuCor law and conduct lifestyle check among prison officials and personnel in the country,” Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, chairman of the House committee on justice, said.

The BuCor law is contained in Republic Act 10575 of 2013.

Umali’s committee concluded on Monday its hearing on the alleged illegal drug trade at the NBP.

BuCor exercises supervision and control over penal colonies.

He said the committee would try to come up with a report on its findings this week. – With Delon Porcalla