BuCor eyes transferring 10,000 PDLs to heinous crime facilities

MANILA, Philippines — As part of its five-year development plan, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) aims to transfer 10,000 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) to heinous crimes facilities in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao by 2028.

At a briefing yesterday, BuCor acting Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said that from 2023 to 2025, the agency plans to build heinous crime facilities in Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija; Camp Peralta Jamindan in Capiz and Camp Kibaritan in Bukidnon.

In 2026 and 2027, 1,000 PDLs will be transferred to each facility and in 2028, 500 PDLs will be transferred, equivalent to 2,500 for each facility.

Two additional heinous crime facilities may also be built due to the actual number of heinous crime offenders.

The BuCor said it is eyeing to request the declaration of some portions of existing military reservations as new prison and penal farms. The bureau earlier targeted to decongest and ultimately close down the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa by 2028.

Data from the BuCor bared that as of January 2023, there are 50,181 PDLs across seven penitentiaries of the bureau that only have a capacity of 12,251. All in all, the seven penitentiaries have an occupancy rate of 410 percent and congestion rate of 310 percent.

As part of the development plan, BuCor said the Department of Justice is proposing to implement its regionalization plan by establishing additional prison facilities in all regions of the country except Metro Manila.

They are also eyeing to reconfigure prison compounds into only 2,500 PDLs per compound, “to address congestion and make it world-class standard.”

They will also look into reconfiguring prison cells into three categories – high risk, moderate risk and low risk.

Aside from these, the BuCor is also proposing the increase of food subsistence for PDLs from P70 to P100 a day; increase medicine expenses to P30 per day from P15 and hire additional 4,000 corrections officer 1 from 2024 to 2028 to address the increase of PDLs in prison facilities.

The BuCor said the modernization plan has a total outlay of P177.2 billion, while P18.9 billion is needed to jumpstart the plan next year.

416 PDLs released

Some 416 PDLs were released from the BuCor penitentiaries yesterday as part of efforts to decongest prisons and penal farms.

Of those released, 205 came from the NBP, 22 from Leyte Regional Prison, 43 from San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm, 13 from Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm, 14 from Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, 76 from Davao Prison and Penal Farm, 42 from the Correctional Institution for Women. A PDL from the Philippine Military Academy was also released.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said he intends to continue releasing PDLs every month. The DOJ and BuCor earlier said they aim to release thousands of PDLs this year.