Bucor Manual

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Bureau of Corrections

The Pre-colonial and Spanish Regimes:

During the pre-colonial times, the informal prison system was community-based, as

there were no national penitentiaries to speak of. Natives who defied or violated the local laws

were meted appropriate penalties by the local chieftains. Incarceration in the community was

only meant to prevent the culprit from further harming the local residents.

The formal prison system in the Philippines started only during the Spanish regime,

where an organized corrective service was made operational. Established in 1847 pursuant to

Section 1708 of the Revised Administrative Code and formally opened by Royal Decree in 1865,

the Old Bilibid Prison was constructed as the main penitentiary on Oroquieta Street, Manila and

designed to house the prison population of the country. This prison became known as the

Carcel y Presidio Correccional and could accommodate 1,127 prisoners.

The Carcel was designed to house 600 prisoners who were segregated according to

class, sex and crime while the Presidio could accommodate 527 prisoners. Plans for the

construction of the prison were first published on September 12, 1859 but it was not until April

10, 1866 that the entire facility was completed.

The prison occupied a quadrangular piece of land 180 meters long on each side, which

was formerly a part of the Mayhalique Estate in the heart of Manila. It housed a building for the

offices and quarters of the prison warden, and 15 buildings or departments for prisoners that

were arranged in a radial way to form spokes. The central tower formed the hub. Under this

tower was the chapel. There were four cell-houses for the isolated prisoners and four isolated

buildings located on the four corners of the walls, which served as kitchen, hospital and stores.

The prison was divided in the middle by a thick wall. One-half of the enclosed space was

assigned to Presidio prisoners and the other half to Carcel prisoners.

In 1908, concrete modern 200-bed capacity hospitals as well as new dormitories for the

prisoners were added. A carpentry shop was organized within the confines of the facility. For

sometime the shop became a trademark for fine workmanship of furniture made by prisoners.

At this time, sales of handicrafts were done through the institutions and inmates were

compensated depending on the availability of funds. As a consequence, inmates often had to

sell through the retail or barter their products.

On August 21, 1869, the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City was

established to confine Muslim rebels and recalcitrant political prisoners opposed to the Spanish

rule. The facility, which faced the Jolo sea had Spanish-inspired dormitories and was originally

set on a 1,414-hectare sprawling estate.

Chapter 2

The American and Commonwealth Governments:

When the Americans took over in the 1900s, the Bureau of Prisons was created under

the Reorganization Act of 1905 (Act No. 1407 dated November 1, 1905) as an agency under theDepartment of Commerce and Police. It also paved the way for the re-establishment of San

Ramon Prison in 1907 which was destroyed during the Spanish-American War. On January 1,

1915, the San Ramon Prison was placed under the auspices of the Bureau of Prisons and started

receiving prisoners from Mindanao.

Before the reconstruction of San Ramon Prison, the Americans established in 1904 the

Iuhit penal settlement (now Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm) on a vast reservation of 28,072

hectares. It would reach a total land area of 40,000 hectares in the late 1950s. Located on the


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westernmost part of the archipelago far from the main town to confine incorrigibles with little

hope of rehabilitation, the area was expanded to 41,007 hectares by virtue of Executive Order

No. 67 issued by Governor Newton Gilbert on October 15, 1912.

Other penal colonies were established during the American regime. On November 27,

1929, the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) was created under Act No. 3579 to provideseparate facilities for women offenders while the Davao Penal Colony in Southern Mindanao

was opened in 1932 under Act No. 3732.

Chapter 3

Transfer of the Old Bilibid to Muntinlupa:

The increasing number of committals to the Old Bilibid Prison, the growing urbanization of

Manila and the constant lobbying by conservative groups prompted the government to plan

and develop a new site for the national penitentiary, which was to be on the outskirts of the

urban center. Accordingly, Commonwealth Act No. 67 was enacted, appropriating one million

(P1,000.000.00) pesos for the construction of a new national prison in the southern suburb of

Muntinlupa, Rizal in 1935. The old prison was transformed into a receiving center and a storage

facility for farm produce from the colonies. It was later abandoned and is now under the

jurisdiction of the Public Estates Authority.

On November 15, 1940, all inmates of the Old Bilibid Prison in Manila were transferred to

the new site. The new institution had a capacity of 3,000 prisoners and it was officially named

the New Bilibid Prison on January 22, 1941. The prison reservation has an area of 587 hectares,

part of which was arable. The prison compound proper had an area of 300 x 300 meters or a

total of nine hectares. It was surrounded by three layers of barbed wire.

Chapter 4

Developments After WWII:

After World War II, there was a surplus of steel matting in the inventory and it was used to

improve the security fences of the prison. A death chamber was constructed in 1941 at the rear

area of the camp when the mode of execution was through electrocution. In the late 60s,

fences were further reinforced with concrete slabs. The original institution became the

maximum security compound in the 70s and continues to be so up to present, housing not only

death convicts and inmates sentenced to life terms, but also those with numerous pending

cases, multiple convictions and sentences of more than 20 years.. In the 1980s, the height ofthe concrete wall was increased and another facility was constructed, 2.5 kilometers from the

main building. This became known as Camp Sampaguita or the Medium Security Camp, which

was used as a military stockade during the martial law years and the Minimum Security Camp,

whose first site was christened Bukang Liwayway. Later on, this was transferred to another

site within the reservation where the former depot was situated.

Under Proclamation No. 72 issued on September 26, 1954, the Sablayan Prison and Penal

Farm in Occidental Mindoro was established. In The Leyte Regional Prison followed suit under

Proclamation No. 1101 issued on January 16, 1973.

Chapter 5

Birth of the Reception and Diagnostic Center:

Recognizing the need to properly orient newly committed prisoners to the Bureau of

Corrections, the Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC) was created through Administrative

Order No. 8, series of 1953 of the Department of Justice. It was patterned after the reception

facilities of the California State Prison. The RDC is an independent institution tasked to receive,

study, and classify all national prisoners committed by final judgment to the National

Penitentiary.


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The first RDC facility was created in Building No. 9 of the Maximum Security Compound of

the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), Muntinlupa City. To isolate the facility from the maximum security

wing which was rocked by violence in 1973, the RDC was relocated to Building No. 7, formerly

referred to as Metro Jail of the Medium Security Compound of Camp Sampaguita, NBP. To

further insulate the newly received inmates from gangs, the Center was transferred to whatwas once the military command post adjacent to the Medium Security facility where the RDC

remains to this day. The RDC is a separate division with a technical function. The Chief of the

RDC sees to its independence in carrying out its tasks of receiving and classifying all male

national inmates committed to the Bureau of Corrections by the competent courts. The RDC

chief reports directly to the Director all the activities undertaken by RDC personnel.

The success of prison rehabilitation programs depends on how the RDC handles the

orientation, diagnosis and treatment of newly arrived inmates. Every effort is made to

determine an inmates strength as well as moral weaknesses, physical inadequacies, character

disorders, and his educational, social and vocational needs. It is during the first sixty (60) days,

during the initial contact between a prisoner and his new environment that primordial

functions pertaining to his care and rehabilitation treatment are exhaustively carried out by the

staff. At the end of the period, the inmate is ready for transfer to any of the penal institutions.

He is expected to have overcome his fears and prejudices and is prepared to cooperate in the

implementation of his rehabilitation program.

Being the initial stop of every national male prisoner, the RDC is constantly improving its

rehabilitative programs. One such reform is the adoption of the behavioral modification

modality. Originally a program for drug dependents, the RDC chief recognized the potential of

applying its principles to all committed inmates. Thus the RDC was turned into a Therapeutic

Community Camp on February 6, 2003.

On June 4, 2004, the RDC also started erasing gang marks of all newly committed prisoners

in an effort to eradicate the gang system within the Bureau. Later, then Director Dionisio

Santiago entrusted the administration of the Muntinlupa Juvenile Training Center (MJTC) to the

RDC through a memorandum dated June 18, 2005. Under a memorandum of Director Vicente

G. Vinarao dated March 31, 2005, the RDC was given administrative control over all other RDCs

of the Bureau of Corrections. The RDC has evolved into an institution that uses a modern

positive approach towards penology.

Chapter 6Non-Operational National Prisons:

Before World War II, two national prisons were established by the government which are no

long operational. One was on Corregidor Island and the other in the Mountain Province.

In 1908 during the American regime, some 100 prisoners were transferred from the Old

Bilibid Prison to the Corregidor Island Prison Stockage to work under military authorities. This

move was in accordance with an order from the Department of Instructions, which approved

the transfer of inmates so they could assist in maintenance and other operations in the

stockade.

The inmates were transported not to serve time but for prison labor. Until the outbreak of

the Second World War, inmates from Bilibid Prison were regularly sent to Corregidor for labor

purposes. When the War broke out, prisoners on Corregidor were returned to Bilibid Prison.

The island prison was never re-opened.

The Philippine Legislature during the American regime also passed Act No. 1876 providing

for the establishment of a prison in Bontoc, Mountain Province. The prison was built for the

prisoners of the province and insular prisoners who were members of the non-Christian tribes

of Mountain Province and Nueva Viscaya.


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The Bontoc prison could be reach only through narrow, poorly developed mountain roads.

Due to the enormous expenses incurred in transporting personnel, equipment and supplies to

the prison, the facility was abandoned and officially closed on April 26, 1932.

INTRODUCTION

Crimes against persons, such as murder, homicide, parricide, continue to dominate the

offense profile, accounts for 50% of the cases of national prisoners.

17 persons were executed by hanging after world war 2, and 84 thru electric chair from

1924 to 1976. NBP is also the designated facility for death sentenced prisoners, the site of

the Lethal Injection Chamber. Following the re-imposition of Death Penalty in 1994, 7

death convicts were so far executed by lethal injection. At present there are more than a

thousand death convicts awaiting their execution. A majority of inmates confined in

national prison did not finish secondary education while nearly 6% never went to school or

were illiterate. Only 3% earned a college degree.

It was felt that the first step in our rehabilitation effort is to provide the basic needs of

inmate as human being. The other steps in the rehabilitation process are the provision of

work programs, health care, education and skills training, recreation and sports, religious

guidance and behavior modification using the therapeutic community approach.

PROGRAMS OF THE BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS

One of the primordial mandates of the Bureau of Corrections is the effective

rehabilitation of prisoners; thus, various programs are in place to address the

rehabilitation aspect in corrections.

The term "rehabilitation" entered the official jargon of corrections in the country in

1955. This was when the Geneva Convention introduced the United Nations Standards on

the Treatment of Prisoners to which the country is a signatory. Considered a breakthrough

in protecting the rights of the incarcerated or those under the custody of law,

rehabilitation has become the principal goal of corrections. Rehabilitation was first applied

in medical practice. It came from the Latin word habilis -- literally, fit or suitable. Its

meaning was expanded to mean to restore to sound operation or to reestablish the

good reputation (Bantam, 1991).

Rehabilitation in correctional work is done through a combination of programs that

involves spiritual activities, educational courses (formal and informal), medical and

hygienic practices, cultural and recreational activities, productive work, counseling,

therapeutic and disciplinary measures. After the basic needs of an inmate are met, the

formal rehabilitation process involves the following institutionalized programs: Inmate

Work program, health care, education and skills training, recreation and sports, religious

guidance and behavior modification using the therapeutic community approach.

Inmate Work Program

The Bureau offers a variety of inmate work programs, from agricultural to industrial. The

purpose of the inmate work program is to keep the inmates busy, and to provide them money

for their personal expenses and their families as well as help them acquire livelihood skills, in

order that they may become productive citizens once they are released and assimilated back

into the mainstream of society.

Different prison and penal farms provide institutional work programs for inmates. At the

Davao Penal Colony, inmates work on the banana plantations of Tagum Development Company

(TADECO) which has a joint venture agreement with the Bureau. Similarly, the vast tracts of


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land at the Iwahig Penal Colony are developed and tilled by inmates to produce various

agricultural products, thereby generating income for the Bureau. The Sablayan Prison and Penal

farm also provides agriculture and aquaculture programs for inmates.

Along this end, the Bureau under the present Director has encouraged agricultural and

industrial production by providing farming implements, tractors, fertilizers and other inputs inorder to sustain this area of rehabilitation for inmates.

Health Care Services

Upon his initial commitment to the Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC), the inmates

medical history is recorded and properly documented by the Medical Specialist. Medical

information and mental status examinations are given to ascertain his overall physical / mental

fitness and whether he would be fit for work. This forms part of the diagnostic process which

will eventually determine the most appropriate rehabilitation program for the inmate.

The principal medical care of inmates is provided through a 500-bed capacity hospital at the

New Bilibid Prisons and at six (6) other mini-hospitals or clinics in the six (6) other prison and

penal farms. All correctional facilities have a full and competent staff of medical practitioners in

charge of clinics, infirmaries and hospitals. These centers are capable of minor surgical

operations, laboratory examinations, radiology, psychiatric, rehabilitation and dental

treatment.

Other government and private hospitals are also tapped in the implementation of standards

pertaining to nutrition and protective health services for the prison community. Medical

services also include a wide range of counseling techniques and therapy programs which

address the psychological problems of inmates, including suicidal thoughts and feelings ofrejection which may lead to disruption of peace and order within the prison compounds. When

an inmates ailment is beyond the competence of the in-house medical doctors, the inmate is

referred to a government hospital in accordance with prison rules and under proper security

escorts.

Education and Skills Training

Rehabilitation can be facilitated by improving an inmates academic and job skills. Records

show that many prisoners are poorly educated. A majority are elementary school drop outs or

have not even finished primary school. Prison education amounts to remedial schoolingdesigned to prepare inmates to obtain basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics.

In most correctional facilities, vocational programs are incorporated into job assignments

and serve as on-the-job training. The goal is to provide inmates with skills that will improve

their eligibility for jobs upon release. Most prison vocational training is geared toward

traditional blue-collar employment in areas such as electronics, auto mechanics and

handicrafts. At the Reception and Diagnostic Center, a basic computer literacy course with

typing as a support course is available for inmates who have finished at least high school level.

Vocational training and social education focus on job readiness. The concern in these areas

is life skills. If inmates are to reenter society and abstain from criminal activity, they must be

employable and have the basic tools necessary to function as responsible citizens.

The National Penitentiary has a college degree program and a tertiary degree

correspondence course, in addition to the regular secondary and compulsory basic literacy

classes. Prisoners are strongly encouraged by the BuCor authorities to enroll while serving their

sentence and to advance their academic skills.


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Recreation and Sports

The inmates enjoy sunrise by participating in daily calisthenics. There are various indoor and

outdoor sports activities, programs, tournaments and leagues all year round, to include

basketball, volleyball, billiards, table tennis and chess. These sports competitions promote

camaraderie among inmates, good sportsmanship and team-building. The latest addition is thenewly constructed indoor sports center/gymnasium at the Maximum Security Compound which

boasts of competition-standard flooring, sound system, locker rooms and bleachers.

All prison and penal farms have adequate recreational facilities for inmates, both for

outdoor and indoor sports. Mini-bodybuilding gyms are available in most prison facilities,

including the Muntinlupa Juvenile Training Center and the Therapeutic Community Center for

inmates with drug cases.

For music lovers and musically-inclined inmates, numerous "videoke" centers are available.

Musical instruments are available for practice or for use in variety shows.

Religious and Spiritual Guidance Program

Inmates enjoy freedom of religion. All inmates are free to observe the rituals of their faith,

with orderly conduct supervised by prison authorities. A religious guidance adviser or chaplain

is assigned in every prison and penal farm. The prison chaplain sets the stage for every regular

spiritual activity. He is an officer of the institution who oversees the operation of the prison

chapel. He is not only the spiritual leader but also a counselor and adviser. Prisoners may be

baptized or given other sacraments. Religious Volunteer Officers, or RVOs belonging to

different church groups provide weekly religious activities ranging from bible studies,

devotions, prayer meetings or praise and worship. With a predominantly Roman Catholic prisonpopulation, a Catholic Mass is a regular feature in spiritual activities of the prison communities.

Restrictions, however, are imposed if, in the course of religious activities, security is

compromised or a program is too expensive.

Therapeutic Community Program

The Therapeutic Community (TC) Program represents an effective, highly structured

environment with defined boundaries, both moral and ethical. The primary goal is to foster

personal growth. This is accomplished by re-shaping an individuals behavior and attitudes

through the inmates community working together to help themselves and each other,restoring self confidence, and preparing them for their re-integration into their families and

friends as productive members of the community.

Patterned after Daytop TC, New York which is the base of the Therapeutic Community

movement in the world, the BuCor TC program was adopted as part of the Bureau's holistic

approach towards inmate rehabilitation. It is implemented primarily but not limited to drug

dependents.

The TC approach has been continuously proven worldwide as an effective treatment and

rehabilitation modality among drug dependents, and have been noted to be effective in many

prisons. By immersing a drug offender in the TC environment, he learns why he had developed

his destructive habits, which led him to substance abuse. The program modifies negative

behavior and or attitudes while restoring self confidence, and prepares inmates for their re-

integration into their families and friends as productive members of the community. This

behavioral modification program gradually re-shapes or re-structures the inmate within a

family-like environment, wherein every member acts as his brothers keeper.

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