THE Bureau of Corrections is adding 500 more officers 1 as part of its effort to boost its manpower and reach the ideal ratio of one prison guard for every seven persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
BuCor officer-in-charge Gregorio Catapang Jr. said the 500 new corrections officers will take their oath today at the New Bilibid Prison Sunken Garden in Muntinlupa City.
“This oath-taking ceremony is another milestone in the history of the BuCor. This is also in line with our efforts to recruit more corrections officers,” Catapang said.
Republic Act 10575 or the BuCor Modernization Act mandates the hiring of additional prison guards to satisfy the optimum ratio of one guard for every seven prisoners.
RA 10575, which raised the benefits of prison employees, seeks to improve the welfare of detainees by upgrading prison facilities and creating programs for education, livelihood, sports and recreation, health, and behavior modification.
BuCor’s manpower includes only 25 corrections inspectors and corrections officers per 2,047 inmates. The ideal ratio is one corrections officer for every seven inmates, but the current figure is 1 to 35.
On the other hand, the ratio for corrections technical officer to inmate currently stands at 1:232 but the ideal figure should be 1 is to 24.
Overall, the BuCor has 4,239 corrections officers and 389 corrections technical officers.
Last July, the BuCor said it should have at least 60, 000 personnel to man and secure the national penitentiary and six other penal colonies in the country.
Aside from the Bilibid, the BuCor also manages 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.
