FIVE hundred more inmates from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City have been transferred to the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (SPPF) in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro as part of the government’s overall efforts to decongest the national penitentiary before its eventual closure in 2028, the Bureau of Corrections said yesterday.
The move came days after a similar number of Bilibid inmates were transferred to the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF).
BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said of the 500 new transferees, 400 came from the NBP’s Reception and Diagnostic Center, 49 from the maximum-security compound, and 52 from the medium-security compound.
The RDC serves as the NBP’s holding area for newly-arrived inmates and psychological evaluation and assessments before inmates participate in the reformation program.
Catapang said another inmate who was earlier transferred to Sablayan and brought back to the Bilibid for medical treatment was returned with the new transferees.
From January to February this year, the BuCor has transferred 1,254 Bilibid inmates to its other operating prison and penal farms.
BuCor data showed that from June 2022 to January 31 this year, it transferred 3,259 inmates from NBP and the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong to the Leyte Regional Prison, DPPF, and the SPPF.
Catapang earlier said the transfer of inmates is a “stop-gap” measure to alleviate overcrowding at the NBP while the agency is waiting for funding for the construction of regional correction facilities as part of its medium and long-term development and modernization plan.
The NBP and the six other operating prison and penal farms of BuCor hold over 50,000 inmates, although their total capacity is only around 12,000, or an average congestion rate of 310 percent.
BuCor said 12,053 inmates have been released from detention after completing their sentence, acquittal, or through pardon and parole.
