Prisons and penal facilities nationwide have been decongested by 69 percent, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said, citing mass releases, transfers, and expanded facilities.
“So, dati 356% ang congestion, napababa na natin iyan nang 69%. Dito na tayo sa 287% na lang,” BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said.
Catapang attributed the improvement to the release of a “record breaking” 10,000 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in 2025, alongside large-scale transfers to the New Bilibid Prison.
“Iyong unang-una nga po, dahil nabawasan natin ng 69% iyong congestion, unang-una nagpalaya tayo nang napakarami. Ito ngang this kakalipat na taon 2025, sampung libo ang napalaya natin – talagang record breaking na naman iyan,” he said.
“And then iyong malakihang transfer nga ng mga PDL sa New Bilibid Prison, almost 14,000 – kaya po inimbitahan ko kayo bumisita kayo ulit sa New Bilibid Prison. Matutuwa kayo kasi hindi na masyadong congested.”
He added that during the first three years of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s term, nearly 18,000 PDLs were released after completing their sentences, 5,000 were granted parole, and 4,000 were acquitted.
Catapang also cited the planned “Supermax” facility in Occidental Mindoro, with ₱1.5 billion allocated for 2026 and a total ₱6 billion budget through 2028.
“Ito po iyong Supermax na sinasabi natin ay pinasa po ito ng Congress, kasi wala na po tayong death penalty. So, ang gusto nila ay talagang maparusahan talaga iyong mga taong nagkasala at masigurado na hindi sila gumalaw pa o mag-isip pa ng masasamang plano habang nakakulong,” he said.
“Kaya next year po ₱1.5 billion ang ia-allocate and then, sa 2027 naman po ₱2 billion, and then 2028 ay ₱2.5 billion, so ₱6 billion po iyan na Supermax na gagawin sa Mindoro.”
In addition, BuCor plans to open a corrections academy near Tanay, Rizal to professionalize its ranks.
“We want to make our training standards as comparable with Singapore, Norway, U.S. and this will happen in the coming years kasi wala po tayong correctional academy. Kailangan po natin iyon,” Catapang added.