BuCor jails congested by as much as 249 percent–report

New Bilibid Prison. INQUIRER.net file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The prisons under the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) are congested by as much as 249 percent, the agency said in a report to the House of Representatives.

The New Bilibid Prisons is only among the jails under the BuCor, housing 22,403 inmates while its capacity is only at 8,460, equivalent to a congestion rate of 164 percent, the BuCor said in its budget report to the House appropriations committee.

The other prisons and penal facilities under BuCor have the following congestion rates:

Correctional Institution for Women – 44 percent congestion rate (Population, 2,193; Capacity, 1,525)

Davao Prison and Penal Farm – 249 percent (Population, 6,304; Capacity, 2,091)

Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm – 53 percent (Population, 2,123; Capacity, 1,391)

San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm – 93 percent (Population, 1,547; Capacity, 802)

Leyte Regional Prison – 167 percent (Population, 1,561; Capacity, 584)

Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm – 93 percent (Population, 2,444; Capacity, 1,265)

The BuCor said its over-all inmate count as of December 31, 2013 was at 38,575, and it has an over-all congestion rate of 139 percent.

The agency said it expects 39,676 inmates in 2014 and 41,413 inmates in 2015.

Amid the congestion, the BuCor is asking a P1.858-billion budget from Congress, 1.4 percent lower than its 2014 budget at P1.885 billion.

Part of its budget is a P41.865-million capital outlay for the procurement of 424 pieces of .45 caliber pistols, for the second phase construction of a two-story inmates’ dormitory in Leyte Regional Prison, and for the construction of a Therapeutic Community Building for Drug Dependent Inmates.