The Bureau of Corrections is not constructing a new prison at the Masungi Georeserve in Tanay, Rizal, where it legally owns 270 hectares, Bucor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. assured Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda.

Nonetheless, Catapang said BuCor has to build a detachment for its forest rangers overseeing the land under its jurisdiction, saying, “We have obligations and responsibilities to conserve the area as part of our national heritage.”

Catapang said BuCor is “one with the Filipino people in preserving our natural resources.” He said that from 20 to 30 of the 270 hectares of “vacant space” in the lower part of Masungi could be used “for this purpose without disturbing the landscape.”

He added that BuCor has been coordinating with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to conduct a delineation survey next month and determine the bounds of its property.

The 270-hectare land in Masungi was awarded to BuCor under Proclamation 1158, signed in 2006 by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for the new site of the New Bilibid Prison and the BuCor national headquarters.

The Masungi Georeserve is a conservation area in the southern Sierra Madre mountain range. It was established in 1996 as a strict nature reserve and wildlife sanctuary.

Legarda is a known environmentalist with the Luntiang Pilipinas group she founded decades ago.

Catapang assured Legarda that BuCor, under the guidance of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, would not use the Masungi property for any purpose that would adversely affect the area’s ecology and sustainability.