BuCor seeks on putting up 17 jails in each region of the country and start the plan before the end of year 2022.
To prevent the overcrowding and congestion in the country's jails, the Bureau of Correction wants to put up national prisons in 17 regions of the country, as a long term solution.
Acting BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr., said that the regionalization plan, which aims to decongest New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City, could start early next year.
The overcrowding of Bilibid was seen as the main reason for many of its problems, including the high mortality rate of its inmates of which 176 corpses were found last month to have been left unclaimed by their relatives since December last year, Inquirer reported.
A total of 29,204 convicts are currently being detained at NBP, the largest mega prison in the world, in a facility designed to house just 6,435.
Catapang hoped to begin building regional prisons by the end of the year as a long-term solution, starting with the BuCor facility to be developed at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija.
He claimed that the existing system of BuCor, which consists of seven cells and penal farms, was less advantageous than building national prisons in each of the country's 17 regions.
Inmates at regional prisons can readily receive visits from their loved ones. Since they will merely return to their communities, they can be reintegrated into society more quickly. The detainees' bodies can also be easily claimed by their families once they pass away, which is something we do not want to happen.
“With regional prisons, inmates can be easily visited by their relatives. They can also be reintegrated to society faster since they will just return to their communities. And last, while we do not want it, once the inmates die, their bodies can be easily claimed by their families. No more “tawid-dagat” needed,” Catapang explained.
Tags: #BuCor, #NationalPrison