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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Queson City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 7937

Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Clamor for a better food system and higher food budget among the country's prison
facilities have been heard as far back the early 2000s. This led to the passage of the
Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013 which mandated decent provisions of living
quarters, food, water and clothing to inmates. However, the call for a raise in the
food budget for the inmates still persisted’. This is only expected to rise as the
number of admitted inmates swelled by as much as 40 percent in the latter half of
2017*. Early this year, the Manila City Jail resorted to buying commercial rice despite
its higher price tag due to lack of supply from the National Food Authority’.

To address the need for access to adequate food for the country’s penal institutions,
this bill proposes to implement Prison Agricultural programs in prison facilities. The
program will provide training to prisoners who will be allowed to work and cultivate
the arable areas and perform farming activities for their own consumption or to be
sold for profit. It aims to help increase rice and food production and recoup money
for the inmates’ welfare.

The concept of Prison Farms is not new to the Philippines—the Iwahig Prison and
Penal Farm in Palawan is one of the many that practice maintaining open-air jails*.
Along other colony-type penal institutions, there is definitely room for improvement in
the penitentiary system in the country.

As such, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

LUIS Y” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.

* http://newsinfo. nquirer.neU/8 10580/p75-a-day-for-fyd-in-jail-urge

? http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2017/09/26/war-drugs-congests-philippine-jails-recto-566188
° http://thestandard.com.ph/news/metro/258 197/nfa-rice-shortage-hits-manila-city-jail.html

“ https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/20 15/10/life-philippines-prison-walls-151007074700822.htm|


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Queson City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No._7937

Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.

AN ACT
MANDATING ALL PENAL INSTITUTIONS WITH AREAS SUITABLE FOR
AGRICULTURE TO IMPLEMENT A VOLUNTARY AGRICULTURAL LIVELIHOOD
PROGRAM FOR PRISONERS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Prison Agricultural Program. — The Bureau of Corrections shall in
coordination with the Department of Agriculture, implement a voluntary agricultural
livelihood program in all penal institutions with areas suitable for agriculture. The
program shall provide training within their respective penal institution to prisoners
who will be allowed to work and cultivate the arable areas and perform farming
activities to produce crops and goods for their own consumption or to be sold for
profit. The profits derived from the program shalll be credited to the Prison Agriculture
Revolving Fund.

SECTION 2. Role of the Department of Agriculture. - The Department of
Agriculture shall supply the seeds, fertilizers, equipment and other implements
necessary for the voluntary agricultural livelihood program and shall provide
technical support and advice to prison personnel on the management and
maintenance of the prison farm. It shall also provide the prisoners who will
participate in the program the necessary training on agriculture, equipment
operations, and farming procedures.


The head of the penal institution shall act as the custodian of the agricultural
supplies and equipment.

SECTION 3. Voluntary Participation of Prisoners and Their Wages. - The
prisoners who will work in the farm shall be chosen upon the recommendation by the
head of the penal institution concerned based on a criteria that shall be determined
by the Department of Justice (DOJ)

The chosen prisoners shall work on a voluntary basis only, in which case the
participant shall be paid the minimum wage rate that is prevailing in the area where
the penal institution is located. The compensation shall be paid from the Prison
Agriculture Revolving Fund.

SECTION 4. Prison Agricultural Revolving Fund. — Every penal institution
implementing the agricultural program shall establish the “Prison Agricultural
Revolving Fund,” consisting of the earnings derived from the program.

The Prison Agriculture Revolving Fund shall be exclusively and primarily used for the
following:

a. Payment of wages of inmates who work in the prison farm; and
b. Acquisition of agricultural inputs, seeds and fertilizers and other provisions for
farming,

At the end of the year, fifty percent (50%) of the Prison Agricultural Revolving Fund
shall be given as dividends to all inmates who participated in the agricultural
program; twenty percent (20%) shall be utilized for the improvement of the penal or
prison facility; and the remaining thirty percent (30%) shalll be the start-up funds for
the succeeding year.

SECTION 5. Reportorial Requirement. - The Bureau of Corrections shall, in
coordination with the Department of Agriculture, conduct a review of the Prison


Agricultural Program every two (2) years and submit a report to both Houses of
Congress. Said report shall contain the following information

. Rate of success, failure of the program;

. Expenses incurred in the implementation of the program per cropping season;
List of inmates who participated in the program;

. Benefits of the program;

.. Problems encountered in the implementation of the program; and

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Recommendation of the heads of each of the penal institutions.

SECTION 6. Appropriations. — The amount necessary for the initial implementation
of this Act shall be charged to the appropriations for the Department of Agriculture.
Thereafter, such sum as may be necessary for the continued implementation of this
Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 7. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within sixty (60) days after
the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of Justice shall, in coordination with the
Secretary of Agriculture, issue such rules and regulations necessary for the effective
implementation of this Act.

SECTION 8. Separability Clause. - Should any provision herein be declared
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of this
Act.

SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules, and regulations
or other issuances or parts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

SECTION 10. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect in fifteen (15) days

after publication in the Official Gazette or in one (1) newspaper of general circulation
in the Philippines.

Approved,