Facade of the Senate of the Philippines building. (FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — A bill seeking to put up a separate facility for heinous crime convicts moved a step closer on Tuesday to becoming a law.
This developed after the Senate ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the conflicting provisions of Senate Bill No. 1055 and House Bill No.10355 — or the proposed Separate Facility for Heinous Crimes Inmates Act.
Sen. Richard Gordon, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said the bicam agreed to use the Senate version of the bill as the working draft.
Under the bill, the justice secretary will determine a “suitable location” for the facility.
That means it should be “away from the general population and other PDLs [persons deprived of liberty] and preferably within a military establishment or on an island separate from the mainland.”
“I am passionate about the creation of a separate heinous facility to solve not just congestion in jails but also to ensure the safety of the public and the convicts themselves,” Gordon said.
“This is just a first step. As chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, I hope we will push for penal reforms in order to make positive shifts in our criminal justice system,” he added.
According to the bill, the facility should be “state-of-the-art” and equipped with surveillance cameras as well as “the latest information technology and security systems capable of monitoring PDLs twenty-four (24) hours a day, and with enhanced and extensive security features on locks, doors, and its perimeters.”
“The facility shall be maintained clean and habitable at all times. Sanitary and hygienic toilets and shower areas shall be provided and maintained,” the bill also stated.
“Upon the establishment of such facilities, the BuCor [Bureau of Corrections] shall include in its classification system PDLs convicted of heinous crimes as defined in this Act who shall serve their sentences in such separate facilities,” it added.
The bicam report still needs to be ratified by the House of Representatives before it can be forwarded to Malacañang for the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte, who only has a month left in office.
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