Church opposed to building new P50B prison

The Catholic Church’s prison ministry is opposing a government plan to build a P50-billion prison facility, saying the project is “unnecessary.”

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC) said there were other more practical solutions to decongest packed penal facilities like the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

The new facility, to be built at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, in the next three years, is one of the projects lined up under the government’s public-private partnership (PPP) program.

The proposed facility is expected to hold 26,880 inmates and include staff housing and administrative buildings as well as areas for rehabilitation, sports and religious activities.

High-security equipment will be installed in the prison.

ECPPC executive secretary Rodolfo Diamante said Church officials had long opposed the prisoners’ transfer to the proposed facility because it was not the solution to the problem of the Bureau of Corrections.

What is needed is to improve the existing facilities in seven colonies where inmates of the New Bilibid Prison could be transferred, Diamante said.—Tina G. Santos