FILE PHOTO: DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla | Boying Remulla’s official Facebook page
MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Tuesday that constructing a “Supermax” correctional facility in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, will hopefully start this year.
The penitentiary could house around 2,500 inmates convicted of heinous crimes, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ) chief.
“We call it Supermax prison, Supermax for those convicted of heinous crimes,” Remulla told reporters after the Bureau of Correction (BuCor) presented the preliminary design of the facility.
When asked about the start of the construction, Remulla said: “It will happen in due time, hopefully this year.”
In the United States, a Supermax prison is a separate penal establishment that houses most hardened criminals and those that cannot be controlled by other means.
Remulla said Sablayan town is an ideal site for such a prison, given its size and location.
The Sablayan Prison and Penal Colony (SPPC), established on September 27, 1954, by Proclamation No. 72, has a total land area of 16,190 hectares. Currently, it houses minimum security inmates. It is the nearest penal colony to the New Bilibid Prison, which is located in Muntinlupa City, the BuCor is managing that.
BuCor officer-in-charge Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said: “Ngayon, fina-fine tune ‘yung version 1 pa lang, and hopefully, baka next week may version 2 na just to fine-tune the plan and they are asking about 6B to jumpstart the heinous crime facility.”
(Currently, version 1 is being fine-tuned, and then hopefully, by next week, there’ll be version 2 just to fine-tune the plan and they are asking about P6 billion to jumpstart the heinous crime facility.)
The construction of the Supermax jail is under the Separate Facility for Heinous Crimes Act that lapsed into law in 2022.
RELATED STORIES
Bill on facility for heinous criminals closer to becoming a law
P4-B fund for proposed ‘super jail’ not included in 2023 budget
Pimentel says PH must build one ‘world class’ maximum security prison