The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) requested an P11.9-billion allocation under the proposed fiscal year 2027 National Expenditure Program, marking a 9.6 percent increase from its P10.88-billion budget in 2026.

BuCor director general Gregorio Catapang Jr. stated the proposal will fund operational modernization, facility expansion, staffing increases, and inmate transfers across operating penal farms to ease prison overcrowding nationwide.

The proposed budget allocates P7.6 billion for personnel services, P3.7 billion for maintenance and operating expenses, and P519.9 million for capital outlay.

A portion of the capital outlay will fund the initial construction phase of a super maximum-security facility in Curuan, Zamboanga, starting with a 500-capacity dormitory.

Catapang highlighted severe staffing and facility deficits across the bureau’s network. BuCor currently oversees 52,356 inmates in facilities designed for 17,211, representing a 305 percent occupancy rate and a 204 percent congestion rate nationwide.

At New Bilibid Prison, the main correctional facility, inmate transfers to regional penal farms reduced congestion from 313 percent in 2022 to 40.58 percent this year.

The agency seeks to fill 725 vacant positions out of its 10,425 authorized plantilla slots to improve staffing ratios.

The current guard-to-inmate ratio stands at 1:17, well above the legal mandate of 1:7 established under Republic Act 10575. Technical officer ratios remain at 1:120 against the statutory standard of 1:24.