THE Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) was urged Tuesday to prioritize the enhancement of the prisoners’ welfare in the agency’s plan to intensify its income-generating activities through joint ventures with the private sector.
Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan issued the proposal as he criticized a recent move by the BuCor under director general Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. to partner with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) in establishing industrial zones in certain areas of BuCor’s penal colonies.
“We laud Gen. Catapang for taking the lead in developing BuCor’s real estate assets through tie-ups with the private sector. This plan is a key factor in transforming the bureau into a modern, highly professionalized and self-sustaining agency,” said Yamsuan, a member of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety.
“As it starts to earn from its business activities, we are optimistic that BuCor would ensure that improving the welfare of the PDLs (persons deprived of liberty) under its custody would be top priority in spending its additional income,” said Yamsuan, a staunch advocate for sweeping reforms in the country’s correctional system.
Providing PDLs with decent and habitable quarters, adequate and nutritious food, quality medical care, and well-crafted reformation programs should be first on BuCor’s agenda when it starts to profit from its business ventures, Yamsuan said.
Yamsuan, a former assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), said qualified PDLs should also be given priority in getting jobs in the eco-zones and other business ventures of BuCor.
According to Catapang, the BuCor’s has 48,783 hectares total land assets “that can be converted into agro- and aqua-culture sites and economic zones.”
The Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF), host to a an on-going project to establish a modern agricultural hub, is a possible site of the first eco-zone to be set up by BuCor and PEZA.
Yamsuan said establishing both an agricultural hub and an eco-zone in the IPPF complement each other, and can even make BuCor a contributor to the government’s goal of attaining food security.
“The Iwahig penal farm can even become a model for BuCor in uplifting the welfare of PDLs under its care. The twin projects of establishing an agricultural hub and an ecozone in the site will provide PDLs with enough nutritious food, generate additional income for BuCor to
elevate their living conditions and give them the opportunity to get decent jobs,” Yamsuan said.
Yamsuan is the principal author of House Bill 8672, which aims to create a Department of Corrections and Jail Management (DCJM).
Yamsuan said unifying the BuCor with other agencies tasked to manage the country’s jails and parole and probation services will ensure the seamless coordination among the different agencies involved in the administration of justice and the management and care of PDLs.
Under Republic Act 10575, “the BuCor shall have the absolute authority to design, formulate and implement land use development plans and policies” as a way to
“maximize its assets’ value for the effective and extensive reformation (corrections) programs for national inmates.”