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.

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 the Department
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 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 provide separate facilities for
women offenders while the Davao Penal Colony in Southern Mindanao was opened in 1932 under Act
No. 3732.

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.

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 of the 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.

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.

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 what was 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 inmate’s 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.

Non-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.

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.

Mandate

The BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS is an agency under the Department of Justice that is charged with
custody and rehabilitation of national offenders, that is, those sentenced to serve a term of
imprisonment of more than three (3) years.

Core Functions

To carry out its mandate, the Bureau undertakes the following:

1. Confine persons convicted by the courts to serve a sentence in national prisons.

2. Keep prisoners from committing crimes while in custody.
3. Provide humane treatment by supplying the inmates' basic needs and implementing a variety of
rehabilitation programs designed to change their pattern of criminal or anti-social behavior.
4. Engage in agro-industrial projects for the purpose of developing prison lands and resources into
productive bases or profit centers, developing and employing inmate manpower skills and labor,
providing prisoners with a source of income and augmenting the Bureau's yearly appropriations.

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 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 in order to sustain this
area of rehabilitation for inmates.

Health Care Services

Upon his initial commitment to the Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC), the inmate’s 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 of rejection which may lead to disruption of peace and
order within the prison compounds. When an inmate’s 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 inmate’s 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 schooling designed 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.

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 the newly 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 prison population, 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 individual’s 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 brother’s
keeper.

As TC family members go on with their daily activities, a strong sense of responsibility and concern for
each other’s welfare are developed. They are constantly being monitored for their progress and are
regularly being evaluated by the TC-trained staff. The TC process allows for genuine introspection,
cultivation of self-worth and positive rationalization that move the individual towards assuming a greater
sense of personal and moral responsibility.

The efforts of the Bureau of Corrections to rehabilitate Drug dependents under its care using the TC
approach is in line with its commitment to create a Drug-Free Prison. Worldwide developments in the
treatment and rehabilitation of drug offenders using this therapeutic community approach have been
noted to be effective in many prisons.