Prisons-private sector joint ventures pushed

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. (File photo by TETCH TORRES-TUPAS / INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. has encouraged operating prison and penal farms (OPFF) nationwide to enter into business ventures with the private sector as part of his reform agenda to make the agency “relevant, sustainable and respected.”

“Just imagine if all OPFF are generating income, maybe there will be a time in the future that the BuCor will no longer need to ask for a budget from the national government, and it will be us who will be remitting income,” Catapang said in a statement. “With the vast idle lands of BuCor, that is not a big impossibility.”

Economy booster

The agency has under its jurisdiction a total of 48,783.31 hectares that, according to Catapang, can be converted into agriculture and aquaculture sites and economic zones. These can help the country attain food security and sufficiency and boost economic development.

“This is one of the reasons why we want to expedite the titling of all our properties nationwide since these will be our legal instruments in dealing with the investors and other stakeholders,” he said.

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BuCor chief cited the joint venture between the Davao Prison and Penal Farm and Tagum Agricultural Development Company Inc. (Tadeco).

According to Catapang, BuCor earns between P20 million and P22 million monthly for leasing 500 hectares of land in the penal farm on top of a guaranteed annual production share where the bananas are planted.

Owned by the Floirendo family, Tadeco produces and exports fresh Cavendish bananas to many countries, with an average production of 5,000 boxes per hectare annually.