The Bureau of Corrections has vowed to continue its quest for a resilient, sustainable and respected agency as reforms continue to be instituted in the different prison facilities nationwide.
The reforms now in place were ordered by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla who had been very vocal about disciplining not only the inmates but also the BuCor personnel.
One year after he took the BuCor's helm, director general Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. has instituted major reforms to keep the agency with the challenges of the times.
"We have to adapt and redefine ourselves to make us relevant, otherwise we will be left behind," Catapang said.
In just one year, Catapang, a former AFP chief of staff, said he has instituted an organizational initiative by revising the BuCor Manual to guide its personnel who were at a loss when Republic Act 10575, the Bureau of Corrections Modernization Act of 2013, which provides for the modernization, professionalization and restructuring of the bureau, was signed into law on 24 May 2013, while its implementing rules and regulations were promulgated in 2016, three years after.
During that time, BuCor personnel were converted from civilian to uniformed status but were not given the proper training and this resulted in the invalidation of the appointments of 804 personnel while 297 were up for attrition and 124 were awaiting attestation.
To help them fulfill the requirements in order to keep their jobs, Catapang ordered the Directorate for Personnel to line up trainings and seminars, values formation programs, lectures and seminars on prison leadership and management.
Catapang also ordered lectures and seminars to be conducted, particularly on the code of conduct and ethical standards, doctrine development, organizational structure, training, material/logistics, personnel, leadership/chain of command and facilities.
He also directed the establishment of a comprehensive administrative disciplinary machinery for erring personnel who commit breaches of discipline, especially those related to graft and corruption.
In order to strengthen personnel management and attain the desired ratio of 1:7 of correction officers to persons deprived of liberty, the BuCor hired 1,500 young COs while another 1,000 COs will be hired next year to augment the BuCor workforce and to close the ratio gap to 1:27 as mandated by RA 10575.
To expedite the release of qualified PDLs as part of the goals of Remulla to provide real justice in real time, more than 6,000 PDLs were released under the "Bilis Laya" program, while many more PDLs will soon be released.
On prison decongestion programs, Catapang said his administration will pursue the construction of 16 facilities — one facility for males and one for females — in every region of the country with the exception of the NCR and to reconfigure prison facilities to accommodate only 2,500 PDLs per facility.
Also included under this program are the establishment of heinous crime facilities at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija for Luzon, Camp Macario B. Palta in Jamindan, Capiz for the Visayas, and Camp Kibaritan, Kalimantan in Bukidnon for Mindanao.