Some 500 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City was transferred to the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said on Monday.

BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. said the transfer was done last Sunday night, 11 August.

Of those transferred, 200 PDLs were from NBP’s maximum-security compound, 200 from medium-security compound, and 100 from the reception and diagnostic center.

Catapang said that since January of this year, they have already transferred 5,770 PDLs from NBP to various operating prisons and penal farms as part of the decongestion program and in preparation for the closure of NBP by 2028.

Those transferred will also augment the workforce of prison farms with agricultural production programs, Catapang added.