THE Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has transferred 493 inmates from the maximum security compound of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City to the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (SPPF) in Occidental Mindoro as part its ongoing effort to decongest the national penitentiary.
The inmates arrived at the SPPF on August 9 guarded by 88 BuCor security personnel, which included those from its Quick Response Force, Security and Escort Command, Gate Security Control Unit and a medical team.
BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said the inmates, upon arrival at the SPPF, underwent medical evaluation and orientation on the facility’s prison rules.
The SPPF is decongesting the NBP and eyeing the transfer of groups of 2,500 to 3,000 prisoners to prison facilities outside of Metro Manila. SPPF is being eyed by the BuCor to serve as one of the planned 12 to 15 regional prison facilities.
The building of regional prison facilities and the transfer of heinous crime convicts to high-tech prison facilities inside three military reservation camps in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are part of the overall thrust of the BuCor to decongest its prison system.
The BuCor is planning to close and transform the NBP into a commercial and business center in 2028.
Last month, the first batch of 500 out of 2,500 inmates from Bilibid and the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong City were relocated to the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan (IPPF).
In a related development, Catapang said he wants to institutionalize his previous proposal to grant or award agricultural land to deserving inmates and their families who will participate in the government’s Reformation Initiative for Sustainable Environment (RISE) for food security.
To recall, last month, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban inked a memorandum of agreement which will pave the way for the creation of the National Implementing Committee for the farming of BuCor unused lands.
Other than utilizing the lands, the undertaking is also aimed at helping inmates prepare for their reintegration to society.
The pilot project of the program was at the IPPF which will utilize around 500 hectares of the facility’s 28,788.54 hectares as farm lots for assorted vegetables (4.5 hectares), cashew (30 hectares), fruits and vegetable herbs (1 hectare), tilapia fishpond (5 hectares), for rice (40 hectares), livestock (400 hectares) and yellow corn (25 hectares).
“This project will not only contribute to the country’s food sufficiency and security but will also address one of the agricultural sector’s concerns of aging farmers since the inmates will be trained as farmers,” Catapang said.
“This will also provide additional income to participating inmates and contribute to their reformation and prepare them to live a normal and productive life upon reintegration to mainstream society,” he added.
