Bicol Saro Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Bicol Saro Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan has proposed the integration of the government鈥檚听 corrections,听 jail and probation management systems into a single听Cabinet-level agency听to address the longstanding problems of congestion,听abuse and corruption in the country鈥檚 penal facilities.听
Yamsuan said his office is now in the process of drafting the bill that aims to create this听 proposed Department of Corrections, which he听 broached during听 a recent House Committee on Justice听 briefing on the state听 of the New Bilibid Prisons听 (NBP) and other jails听 in the country.听
Dr. Raymund Narag, a recognized international criminology expert and himself a听 former detainee, conducted the briefing, which听 showed the appalling conditions inside the NBP and other jails. 听
These conditions are the result of the overly high congestion rate听 in these prisons,听 the lack of personnel and financial resources, and other听 structural deficits that breed corruption and irregular practices often tolerated by corrections officials to enable them and their detainees to survive in poorly maintained facilities, Narag said.听
鈥淒r. Narag鈥檚 comprehensive briefing is a wake-up call for us in Congress to address once and for all the perennial problems that have long plagued听 our penal facilities. The problems enumerated听 by Dr. Narag are also the same problems that we in the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) have encountered in district, city and municipal jails nationwide听 and tried to find solutions to more than 10 years ago under then Secretary Ronnie Puno,鈥� said Yamsuan, a former DILG Assistant Secretary.听
鈥淏ased on Dr. Narag鈥檚听 extensive analyses, there appears to be no significant improvements at all in our penal facilities despite the passage of a law in 2013听 that aims to strengthen and professionalize the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor),鈥� he added.听
Creating a line agency like the Department of Corrections will enable the government to introduce long-due reforms in its fragmented corrections and jail management systems and听 work on improving the living conditions and rehabilitation programs of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), Yamsuan said.听
The Department will also be able to focus on safeguarding the rights of PDLs,听 from the time of their detention up听 to their rehabilitation and reintegration to society, he added.听
Yamsuan听 made the proposal as the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, of which he is also a member, is set to conduct this week听 a motu proprio inquiry in aid of legislation into the reported disappearance of a PDL and the discovery of mass graves inside the NBP鈥檚 maximum security compound.听
He said he will closely coordinate with Department of Justice (DOJ)听 Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. to get their inputs on his proposed Department of Corrections.听
The Philippines鈥� jail management system is disjointed. Its prison and penal facilities are under the BuCor of the DOJ, while its district, city and municipal jails are under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)听 of the DILG. The provincial jails are under the supervision of the provincial governments.听
According to data from BuCor, the NBP and other penal facilities it manages currently houses around 51,500 inmates nationwide.听 But the total听 capacity of all these jails is estimated at only 12, 250听 inmates, which leads to a congestion rate of 321 percent.听
The 听 congestion rate alone of the NBP, the largest mega-prison in the world,听 is at 377 percent as its听 current population of听 30,701 is only听 enough听 for 6,500听 inmates.
Meanwhile, the听 ideal custodial officer-to-inmate ratio is 1 is to 7, but in BuCor鈥檚 penal facilities, the ratio is at 1 is to 30, according to the bureau鈥檚 data. 听
Narag, in response to听 Yamsuan鈥檚 proposal, agreed that it would be best to create a single authority to manage the government鈥檚听 jail, corrections and probation systems.
鈥淟ooking at the Filipino culture, I do believe that if we get the BJMP out of the DILG, we get the BuCor out of the DOJ, we get the [Board of Pardons and Parole] out of the DOJ, and we get the provincial jails out of the provincial government, and put them all together into one agency, that would be a more systematic way to address the problems,鈥� Narag said.听
The chief of the BJMP, Jail Director Ruel Rivera, also backed Yamsuan鈥檚 proposal to integrate the country鈥檚 fragmented jail management systems. 听
Bukidnon 2nd District Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores, the chairperson of the House Committee on Government Reorganization, and who was also present at the briefing, said he was looking forward to Yamsuan鈥檚 bill on creating this new line agency.听
Narag himself is a prime example of the injustices suffered by PDLs as a result of the country鈥檚 fragmented and grossly听 inefficient criminal justice system. Narag spent听 seven years of his life in pre-trial detention, after he was suspected of involvement in the death of another student from a rival fraternity. Narag was eventually found innocent of the allegations against him.听
During the briefing,听 lawyer Antonio Pido of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) narrated how the organization听 had assisted听 a PDL who听 had already completed serving his sentence but听 endured several years more听 in jail because of the incomplete paperwork for his release, and another who was already in detention but was still known to be 听 鈥渁t large鈥� by law enforcement agencies.
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