JUSTCE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is eyeing the transfer of heinous crime convicts at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to 12 to 15 regional prisons.
“We are eyeing 12 to 15 regional prisons of around 3,000 to 2,500 population each,” Remulla said just days after a chopped body was found inside a septic tank inside the Bilibid’s maximum security compound and a shooting incident that left one inmate dead and nine others injured.
There are 29,530 prisoners cramped at the national penitentiary’s maximum, medium and minimum security compounds as of January 2023. More than 17,000 of these detainees are being held at the NBP’s maximum security compound, including big-time drug lords, who are staying at Building 14.
The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has said that there are 50,126 inmates detained in the NBP and the six other prison and penal facilities run by BuCor.
Out of this number, 18,625 inmates are eyed to be transferred by 2028 to the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm, Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Southern Leyte, IPPF, Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Davao del Norte, San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City.
Remulla has stressed the urgency of building regional prison facilities to decongest the national penitentiary.
He said, though, that not all of the regional prison facilities will be built new as the BuCor can upgrade and expand existing prison and penal colonies to accommodate more prisoners.
“Some of them we can just expand like Iwahig in Palawan, Davao Penal Colony, and San Ramon in Zamboanga City.We can also expand the Leyte prison and penal farm,” he said.
