At least 30,000 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) have been released from Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) facilities since 2022, significantly easing jail congestion and improving prison conditions, according to BuCor Director-General Gregorio Catapang.

On the sidelines of the ongoing National Decongestion Summit on Thursday, Catapang said the releases were made possible through the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA), following a 2022 Supreme Court ruling. 

“We want it more robust, integrated, and there should be a mechanism on how to do it,” Catapang told reporters in mixed English and Filipino during an ambush interview. 

He noted that faster processing of releases has helped create a more peaceful atmosphere in correctional facilities, as inmates are assured they will be released “in due time.”

“From the time the Supreme Court decided in 2022 up to today, [we have released about 30,000 PDLs through GCTA],” Catapang further stressed. 

“We had a peaceful atmosphere in our prisons because they knew that in due time they would be released,” he added.

Unified penology system

Catapang said one of the key policy directions of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the establishment of a unified penology and correctional system, which would bring BuCor, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), and other jail facilities under a more coordinated framework.

He said the proposal includes placing BJMP under the Department of Justice (DoJ), an idea supported by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla. However, the plan is still undergoing study and will be discussed further during the summit.

“That was an initiative as per Sec. Jonvic Remulla — that he is willing to transfer BJMP to DoJ to enforce a unified management,” Catapang said. 

According to Catapang, the idea is not necessarily to merge BuCor and BJMP, but to place them under one department so cases can be better monitored and processed more quickly.

“We are also moving towards reintegration, because the BuCor’s role is for safekeeping and reformation,” he said. 

He likewise emphasized that any transfer of administrative and operational control would require new legislation, which he said could become part of the 20th Congress’s legislative agenda.

Decongestion gains

Further, Catapang reported significant progress in reducing congestion rates across facilities. 

BJMP jails, he said, have reduced congestion from 290 percent to around 270 percent.

“For BuCor, from 300 percent or more, we’ve reduced congestion to about 240 percent,” he said. “We are moving towards that direction, and hopefully by 2028, we can significantly address — if not eliminate — the congestion problem.”

At the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), congestion has dropped dramatically, from around 300 percent to about 200 percent, or a reduction of roughly 100 percentage points. 

Catapang said BuCor focused on decongesting NBP to allow the transfer of inmates to other penal colonies.

Reg’l prisons, pilot facility in Nueva Ecija

Catapang also announced that BuCor will open a pilot unified penology and correctional facility in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija, within the year. 

The provincial government has donated 60 hectares for the project, part of a larger 120-hectare property.

The facility will house a provincial jail, BJMP detainees from nearby municipalities, and a BuCor reception and diagnostic center (RDC) in one compound. 

It is expected to accommodate around 3,000 PDLs undergoing trial.

“Once sentenced, they go straight to our province, then we transfer them to a regional prison,” Catapang explained.

Similar expansions are planned in other regions. 

He said the provincial government of Southern Leyte has donated 2,800 hectares for prison expansion, while land has also been secured in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Bilibid to be repurposed

Catapang said the Sablayan Penal Colony in Mindoro, designated as a supermax facility, is nearly complete and will house inmates convicted of serious and heinous crimes. He said it could also be used for offenders involved in significant cases, such as flood control anomalies, if needed.

Meanwhile, BuCor plans to close and repurpose the New Bilibid Prison property in Muntinlupa, citing security risks due to surrounding residential developments.

“Our stay is not tenable anymore,” he said. “If something happens, like a jailbreak, it will be a serious security problem. That property can be used for other government purposes.”

Beyond decongestion, Catapang stressed that BuCor is now placing stronger emphasis on reintegration, ensuring that released PDLs are given a “second chance” through a coordinated, whole-of-society approach involving multiple government agencies and community partners.

“We want to institutionalize reintegration,” he said. “We want it to be more robust, integrated, and with clear mechanisms on how to do it.”

Catapang expressed hope that by the end of the Marcos administration in 2028, the government would leave behind a lasting legacy of having decisively addressed the country’s jail congestion problem through a whole-of-government approach.