THE Justice Department yesterday said the Bureau of Corrections has created a task force to address the worsening congestion problem at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa city, including reviving previous plans to transfer the facility to Nueva Ecija.
Justice Undersecretary Deo Marco said the task force has submitted a proposal to the DOJ on how to address the problem.
“This is now under serious consideration of the DOJ. There are offers from third parties on where to transfer. Tentatively, we are thinking of Nueva Ecija though this is still under study,” Marco said in a radio interview.
He said aside from relocating the national penitentiary to Nueva Ecija, the BuCor is also pushing for the “regionalization” of its facilities, meaning every region will have a penal colony to decongest the NBP.
“If we would be able to set up BuCor facility in different regions, then it would be of great help in decongestion,” Marco explained, adding there is a pressing need to address the congestion at the national penitentiary as 58 to 60 percent of the 48,000 inmates under the care of the BuCor are detained at the NBP.
The NBP’s maximum-security compound, where four inmates escaped last January 17, houses 17, 329 inmates.
Aside from the NBP, the BuCor also operates six other penal colonies, namely, the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong city, Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro; San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga city, Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan, Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Leyte; and the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Davao del Norte.
Marco said a bill is pending in Congress seeking to establish separate jail facilities in areas with high crime rates.
