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FROM August to October of this year, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has released a total of 740 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) as part of the current administration’s program to decongest the country’s prison facilities.
This brings the number of PDLs freed under the more than two-year term of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to a total of 16,657.
Meanwhile, more than 5,000 out of 27,311 PDLs convicted of heinous crimes are expected to be released before the year ends after the Supreme Court ruled with finality that persons convicted of heinous crimes are entitled to the benefits of Republic Act No. 10592, or the New Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.
In December 2023, all three branches of the government—the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary—came together in the National Decongestion Summit, spearheaded by the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC), to find solutions to jail and prison overcrowding.
The JSCC is composed of the Supreme Court (SC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
During the event, Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo stressed that the efficiency and efficacy of any criminal justice system is measured not by how many are prosecuted and incarcerated, but rather by how many are reformed and rehabilitated.
Gesmundo, however, admitted that the conditions of the country’s jails and detention facilities are not humane.
Gesmundo said that the Summit “will go beyond mere talk and discussion” and stressed that JSCC will already lay down its plan of action for addressing congestion.
Despite these efforts, the alarming inhumane conditions of those still serving their prison terms are far from being resolved, as prison facilities are expected to remain congested in the coming years.
In fact, the occupancy rate of the country’s penal facilities remains high at more than 230 percent as of May 31, 2024, as the PDLs’ population continues to rapidly increase, reaching more than 53,000 as of the same period.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, during the Senate’s budget hearing for the 2025 National Expenditure Program for the Judiciary in August, described the congestion problem of correction facilities as “unmanageable” and the conditions of PDLs as “pitiful.”
He lamented that the government has other important priorities in the allocation of budget, which explains the huge cut in the proposed 2025 budget for the BuCor.
BuCor submitted a budget proposal for fiscal year 2025 amounting to P24.5 billion to address the challenges posed by high occupancy and congestion rates in various operating prison and penal farms, but was only given an appropriation of P9.243 billion, or less than half.
The proposed budget was supposed to be spent for the construction and expansion of current prison facilities and rehabilitation of infrastructure to improve their capacity and the living conditions of PDLs, which is deemed crucial for rehabilitation.
Aside from the NBP, the BuCor is currently operating seven penal and prison facilities, such as the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF), Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF) in Palawan, San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm (SRPPF) in Zamboanga, Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (SPPF) in Occidental Mindoro, Leyte Regional Prison (LRP) and the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City.
Out of the seven prison facilities, the NBP in Muntinlupa City stands out with the highest occupancy rate, reaching 292 percent with its PDL population of 28,892 occupying space for a maximum capacity of 9,885 for its land area.
The DPPF has a PDL population of 8,707 as of May 2024 despite its capacity of only 1,350, or an occupancy rate of 645 percent; IPPF has a 4,430 PDL population, although its capacity is only 645, or an occupancy rate of 687 percent; SRPPF has a 3,721 PDL population for a maximum capacity of 711, or 523-percent occupancy rate; SPPF has more than 3,000 PDLs with a maximum capacity of 1,175, or an occupancy rate of 284 percent; LRP’s PDL population has reached more than 3,000 with a maximum capacity of only 687, or 481-percent occupancy rate; and CIW with more than 3,000 PDLs, although its maximum capacity is only 1,008, or an occupancy rate of 309 percent.
No expansion, more congestion
CHIEF Justice Gesmundo has stressed that the congestion problem of jail prison facilities cannot be addressed without the corresponding expansion of jail facilities.
He noted that 70 percent of detention facilities under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology are overcrowded, at an average congestion rate of 386 percent.
Even worse, the occupancy rate in some jails has gone as high as 2,748 percent of their standard capacity, according to the chief magistrate.
Remulla also conceded that mega prisons like the NBP are already considered taboo around the world, as they dehumanize the PDLs’ conditions.
Thus, the DOJ and the BuCor are pushing for the decentralization of prison facilities before 2028.
However, the plan would have to take the backseat because of budgetary constraints.
“What was not given by the national government in terms of our submission was the BuCor prison modernization program, which aimed to introduce a decentralized jail system instead of having mega prisons,” Remulla told the Senate.
This would mean that the construction of regional facilities as embodied in Republic Act 10575, or the Bureau of Corrections Modernization Act, will have to wait.
Under the proposed 2025 NEP, the construction of various facilities under the BuCor was only given an appropriation of P853.179 million. This would include the construction of two units of two-story dormitory at DPPF amounting to P100 million; two units of two-story dormitory at IPPF worth P273.2 million; one unit of two-story dormitory at SRPPF in the amount of P180 million; and P300 million for the second-year construction of a Super Maximum Security Facility at SPPF.
“It’s really a pitiful situation we have right now, that’s why we wanted to decentralize the prison system and to build regional jails, at least 15 regional jails throughout the country,” Remulla earlier lamented.
Remulla said the DOJ is exploring the possibility of entering into public-private partnership arrangements to address the urgent problem.