Bucor transfers 500 Bilibid prisoners to Sablayan Prison in Mindoro

In a bid to ease congestion at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa city, 500 persons deprived of liberty are transferred from the NBP to Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (SPPF) in Occidental Mindoro, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said on March 24, 2024. (Photo from BuCor Public Information Office)

 MANILA, Philippines — A new batch of 500 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) have been transferred from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa city to Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (SPPF) in Occidental Mindoro, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said on Sunday.

This move is part of BuCor’s efforts to ease congestion at the NBP by relocating PDLs to different operating prison and penal farms (OPPFs) outside of Metro Manila, in preparation for the eventual closure of the NBP before 2028.

“The 500 new transferees are composed of 400 from the Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC), 49 PDLs from the maximum society compound, and 52 from the medium security compound, plus the one returning PDL arrived safely last night at SPPF,” BuCor’s statement read.

Bucor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. noted that another PDL, who was temporarily transferred from SPPF and underwent medical treatment from the NBP Hospital, was discharged and transferred back to SPPF.

The NBP-RDC is responsible for classifying PDLs based on their security risk and sentence length, Catapang was quoted as saying in the statement.

The facility also serves as a holding area for psychological evaluations and other assessments before inmates participate in the reformation treatment program.

“There are three security classification of PDLs inside the operating prison and penal farms (OPPF) of Bucor, which is the maximum security compound that houses PDLs serving a prison sentence of more than 20 years; the medium security compound, which houses those serving less than 20 years; and the minimum security compound, which houses those close to completing their sentence,” BuCor explained.

The bureau previously said it had released a total of 632 PDLs in January of this year.