New detention facility for alien offenders eyed

To accommodate more foreign nationals awaiting deportation to their home countries, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced the expansion of its facilities at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Wednesday.

According to BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval, the bureau is planning to construct two buildings with three stories to replace the current one-story building.

“We will expand the area. We are also looking at having a new area, a new facility but I am not allowed to speak on it because there is no finality yet,” Sandoval told reporters in a forum in Manila.

She noted that the expansion plan is already in the “pipeline by this year and next year.”

At present, the facility accommodates nearly 300 foreigners, three times larger than its recommended capacity of over 100 individuals.

Sandoval said that the BI wants to address the issue of overcrowded facilities housing individuals who have erred, but the main challenge is the lack of space.

“We want to provide them with a decent detention center. We have basic amenities like a shower and kitchen. But of course, we need to expand the area, it’s really the space that is the problem,” she said.

“If we have a big space, it would really help in making the place habitable,” she added.