A total of 275 Bureau of Corrections employees face termination this weekend for not meeting the necessary qualifications under Republic Act 10575, otherwise known as the Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013.

Under RA 10575, which provides for the professionalization and upgrading of Bucor personnel’s qualification standards, they were given five years from the date the law took effect to obtain the minimum educational qualifications and eligibility.

Due to the delay in promulgating the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 10575, the Civil Service Commission only approved the Qualification Standards for Uniformed Personnel of Bucor on 16 March 2018. Thus, the five-year period to comply with the minimum requirements for their positions lapsed on 16 March 2023.

Given the difficulties faced by the concerned employees due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla extended the period to a non-extendable period of one year or up to 16 March this year.

BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr., in letters dated 30 October 2023 and 24 February this year, appealed to Remulla, on behalf of the affected personnel, for compassion.

Replying to Catapang’s letter, Remulla said he denied the request, saying, “I regret to inform you that the suspension of the attrition system cannot be further extended beyond the original non-extendable period of one year.”