Great strides in responsive prison system marks BuCor centennial

The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) is continuing to work for the development of a modern and secure correctional institution that will help inmates in their eventual re-integration into the mainstream of society.

As BuCor marks its 100th year of service, Director Vicente Vinarao said they are envisioning a highly responsive prison system geared toward rehabilitation.

"The bureau’s rehabilitation strategies take advantage of today’s widely accepted practices and modern technologies. Skills training, religious activities, livelihood programs and agro-industries are incorporated into the agency’s rehabilitation framework," he said.

Vinarao likewise said therapeutic community-based behavioral modification programs for the inmates have proven successful.

BuCor, an agency under the Department of Justice, is mandated to safekeep and rehabilitate national offenders sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment of more than three years. This is achieved through educational, therapeutic, productive and restorative principles.

Formerly known as Bureau of Prisons, the bureau adopted the new name in 1989 by virtue of Section 26 of the Administrative Code of 1987. Proclamation 495 was later issued to emphasize rehabilitation as the primary goal of the bureau.

Under the current leadership Vinarao, BuCor’s accomplishments fall under two major outputs — custody, maintenance and rehabilitation services; and agro-industries project operation services.

Successful implementation was made possible by the cooperation of the bureau officials and staff, concerned companies and non government organizations.

As of June 2005, BuCor was maintaining 29,161 inmates in seven operating institutions nationwide. Of the total, 18,327 are confined at the New Bilibid Prisons.

Rehabilitation efforts of the bureau are focused on programs such as formal and non-formal education, vocational and skills training, sports, health care, religious guidance, drug testing and detoxification and basic inmate needs.

Work and livelihood programs provide employment opportunities to the inmates.

"They learn agricultural and industrial skills that they can utilize as a means of livelihood once released," Vinarao said.

To commemorate its centennial, BuCor has lined up a number of activities, which includes the unveiling of a historical marker. The project was made possible through the cooperation of the National Historical Institute.

A centennial stamp and official first-day cover will also be launched through the Philippine Postal Corp. A book on the 100 years of the bureau has already been published.

Vinarao said they will soon open a museum on corrections and prison life with technical assistance provided by professionals in museology.