BuCor targets inmate-officers 1:7 ratio

With Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla's plan to release more inmates to decongest jail facilities nationwide, the Bureau of Corrections is eyeing to improve the ratio of inmates and corrections officers.

The BuCor corrections officer-inmate ratio of 1:7 is part of the agency's bid to reform prison facilities rocked with controversies.

Remulla earlier said prison facilities, particularly the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, are 250 percent congested thus, the monthly release of qualified inmates through the help of the Public Attorney's Office under Atty. Persida Rueda Acosta and the Board of Pardon and Parole.

The NBP in Muntinlupa City is the main insular prison designed to house the prison population of the country and it is maintained by the BuCor under the Department of Justice.

As of October 2022, the NBP houses 29,204 inmates, exceeding its ideal capacity of 6,345.

Meanwhile, BuCor acting Director Gregorio Catapang Jr. said they are requesting the Department of Budget Management to increase the bureau's plantilla positions and meet the proposed ratio.

He said the ideal ratio is 1:7, but will initially go for 1: 14 given that the government cannot immediately the required funds.

"But we will adjust whatever the government, our leadership will provide," Catapang said.

He earlier said newly-hired corrections officers will be trained extensively in values formation to prevent them from drifting towards corruption.

He assured that they will make sure good values will be ingrained in the new corrections officer plus the physical training, attentiveness, agility, and the 11 general orders of a guard.

Catapang administered the oath-taking of 533 new corrections officers at the NBP compound in Muntinlupa City on 29 December.

Of the 533 new correction officers, 313 are criminologists, 131 are licensed teachers, and several are nurses, social workers, and psychometricians, among others, BuCor data showed.