‘Republic of the Philippines
House Or REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Fifteenth Congress
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No, 946

Introduced by Honorable Ranulfo P. “Dodong”

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks establish three additional penal institutions in the
Philippines, one for Luzon, one for Visayas and one for Mindanao.

It'is a sad fact that most inmates in the country’s national penitentiary, the
New Bilibid Prison (NBP), who are from far-flung areas of the country cannot
be visited by their relatives and friends due to distance and financial constraints.
While it is true that a visit from relatives or friends is a big factor that can
greatly enhance the rehabilitation of a prisoner, records and experience abound
showing countless broken homes and marriages caused by the lack of visitation
and communication between an inmate and his family. It is also common
occurrence, no matter how deplorable and hapless, that dead inmates who are
unclaimed by their families are simply buried in the vicinity of the NBP
compound.

Another big problem in the NBP is congestion. In June 2011, during
committee hearings on the bills concerning the modernization of the Bureau of
Corrections and at the height of the furor over the sleep-over privilege of
convicted former Batangas governor Jose Antonio Leviste, the sorry state of the
country’s national penitentiary was brought to fore. Several information were
exposed —that the population growth rate for inmates nationwide stood at 5%.
As of June 2011, the number of inmates jumped from 13,000 to about 36,000
for the last 20 years. Moreover, both medium security and maximum security
camps of the NBP had exceeded its occupancy rate by more than 200%. The
number of employees did not change — it was 2,362 twenty years ago and
2,362 today — which leaves a disparate 1:81 ratio of custodians to inmates.



While the primal part of the prisoner’s punishment is the deprivation of
liberty, the present state of NBP is in sub-human condition, and, rather than
being reformatory, it has become more punitive, thereby running counter to the
provisions of the United Nations’ agreements like Standard Minimum Rules for
the Treatment of Prisoners, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, that our country is a signatory.

To effectively pursue the government's responsibilities to provide
humane treatment of prisoners, supply the inmates’ basic needs and implement
a variety of responsive rehabilitation programs designed to wean them from the
pattern of their criminal or anti-social behaviour, app of this bill is
earnestly recommended.

RANULFO Dodpng” CANONIGO.


Republic of the Philippines
Houszt Or REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Fifteenth Congress
Second Regular Session

fon)

HOUSE BILL NO. 5
Introduced by Honorable Ranulfo P. “Dodong” Canonigo

: AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THREE ADDITIONAL PENAL INSTITUTIONS IN
LUZON, VISAYAS AND MINDANAO, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Three additional penal institutions are hereby established in
Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

SEC. 2. Each of the penal institutions shall be provided with a building
for p: iscaers, equipment, tools, implements, devices and apparatus, and manned
by expert personnel necessary for it to carry out the programs and functions
similar to the national penitentiary.

SEC. 3. Within sixty (60) days from the approval of this Act, the
Secretary of Justice shall issue rules and regulations necessary for the effective
implementation of this Act.

SEC. 4. The amount necessary for the initial implementation of this Act

shall be charged to the appropriations of the Department of Justice under the


current General Appropriations Act. Thereafter, such amount as may be
necessary for the continued implementation of this Act shall be included in the
annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 5. All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, and other
issuances, or parts thereof, inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.

SEC. 6. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,