House justice panel inspects Bilibid

MANILA, Philippines - Members of the House of Representatives justice committee conducted an ocular inspection of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) yesterday to check on the progress of reforms being implemented by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

The panel, headed by Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas, inspected the dormitories at the prison’s maximum security compound, which currently houses 14,500 inmates serving life sentences for capital offenses.

The minimum and medium security compounds house 8,500 inmates.

This is the second time the committee visited the NBP in the past three months. In October last year, the panel held an on-site hearing on the special treatment of high-profile inmates and various illegal activities at the prison.

During the hearing, BuCor Director Franklin Bucayu told lawmakers that the construction of a P50.2-billion facility in Nueva Ecija to house NBP inmates will start soon. The project will be carried out through public-private partnership.

He said the National Economic and Development Authority approved the transfer of the national penitentiary from Muntinlupa City to Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija last October.

The transfer will be implemented over the next three years.

Bucayu said the Nueva Ecija penitentiary can accommodate 26,880 inmates from the NBP and the Correctional Institution for Women.