Prison congestion tackled in national summit next month

- Advertisement -

THE chronic problem of congestion in the country’s prison facilities will be tackled in a national summit to be spearheaded by the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) next month.

The JSCC is composed of the Supreme Court (SC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The DOJ has jurisdiction over the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) which operates the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) and six other prison and penal farms across the country, while the DILG supervises the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

- Advertisement -

The December 6-7 National Jail Decongestion Summit aims to bring together key stakeholders, experts, and justice sector officials from across the country, along with international partners, to devise “comprehensive strategies” that prioritize sustainable solutions for the reduction of inmate populations in correctional facilities.

“The Summit will host a diverse array of panel discussions, workshops, and presentations offering a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and opportunities associated with the decongestion efforts,” the JSSC said in a statement.

Among the officials expected to attend the summit are Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, and Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr.

The problem of jail congestion was brought home when Gesmundo visited the NBP last October 27 and the Pasay City Jail last October 29 in observance of the 28th National Correctional Consciousness Week.

During his visit, Gesmundo acknowledged the difficulties being faced by inmates, particularly the deficiencies in facilities and space within the prisons.

“Here the SC, the DOJ, and the DILG shall collaborate to identify the root causes of prolonged detention in jails, which contribute to prison overcrowding. We aim to establish new policies and initiatives that shall expedite the processing of criminal cases and alleviate jail congestion,” Gesmundo said.

The JSSC said 70 percent of BJMP jails across the country are suffering a 386 percent congestion rate.

Earlier, Remulla said the BuCor prison facilities, including the NBP, had an inmate population of over 50,000 as of January this year, although their total capacity is only around 12,000, or an average congestion rate of 310 percent.

The NBP alone has an occupancy rate of 477 percent and the congestion rate is at 377 percent considering that it has a capacity of only 6,435 inmates. As of last June, it has an inmate population of 30,701.

To alleviate the problem, the DOJ and BuCor have been releasing qualified inmates — the elderly and sick and those who have completed their sentence or paroled — since July 2022.

The BuCor has already released a total of 5,602 inmates from November 2022 to August this year.

Part of the BuCor’s decongestion plan also includes building regional prisons and the transfer of heinous crime convicts to high-tech prison facilities inside three military reservation camps in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

Author

- Advertisement -

Share post: