SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE. ) .
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES) we hg cat ueterp

Third Regular Session )
18 M18 M017
SENATE
s.no. 1879 : P

i ——S
Introduced by SENATOR LEILA M. DE LIMA.
= SSS

AN ACT
INSTITUTING A UNIFIED CORRECTIONS AND JAIL
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, INTEGRATING THE NATIONAL
PRISONS AND PENAL FARMS, AND THE PROVINCIAL, SUB-
PROVINCIAL, CITY, DISTRICT AND MUNICIPAL JAILS,

ESTABLISHING FOR THE PURPOSE THE NATIONAL

COMMISSION ON CORRECTIONS AND JAIL MANAGEMENT,
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

We have a highly fragmented corrections and jail management system. Our
prisons and penal farms are under the control and supervision of the Bureau of
Corrections (BuCor) of the Department of Justice’; the provincial jails, under the
provincial governments*; while the district, city and municipal jails, under the Bureau
of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) of the Department of Interior and Local
Governments,

The management of these various facilities, the custody and reformation of the
prisoners and detainees in these places, and the supervision of personnel manning the
facilities and handling the inmates all follow disparate sets of laws, rules and
regulations. This is not conducive to efficiency, effective management and an
integrative and uniform development of programs on correctional services and jail
management.

Worse, we have the highest jail congestion rate in the world. In February 2018,
the population of inmates in district, city, municipal jails, female dorms, special

' Executive Order No. 292 (Administrative Code of 1987), Section 26, Chapter 8, Title III, Book IV.

* Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code), Section 17, sub-section (3) (vi).

3 Republic Act No. 1575 (Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013) and Republic Act No. 6975 (Department of
Interior and Local Government Act of 1990)
4Rocamora, Rick, “Bursting at the seams: Philippine detention centers."5 March 2018. Rappler.com.
Available at __https://www-rappler.com/views/imho/197309-bursting-seams-duterte-drug-war-
detention-centers <last visited on 11 July 2018>



intensive care aréas, and infirmaries under BJMP’s jurisdiction is at 145,476.5 Our 466
jails nationwide have a collective capacity of only 20,399 inmates. The Manila City
Jail is the most congested with a 601.91 percent congestion rate. It could ideally
accommodate only 800 inmates, but currently, it has a population of about 5,400 to
5,600.7

‘The ill-conceived “war on drugs” of the Duterte administration even makes our
jails “burst at the seams.” From July 2016 to September 2017 alone, the Philippine
National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) arrested
96,703 suspected drug pushers, users and chemists. A staggering 94 percent of those
arrested are in pre-trial detention.8

Naturally, overcrowding of prisons and jails produces or reinforces a host of
other problems Such as jail disturbances, escapes, substandard living and working
conditions, poor sanitation and hygiene-related or even infectious diseases. Severe
congestion is also a root cause of prison-based criminality.

Thus, in its Concluding Observations on the Third Periodic Report of the
Philippines in 2016, the UN Committee against Torture pointed out that our facilities
do not meet minimum international standards, and may qualify as ill-treatment or
torture.9 The conditions in our prisons and jails are a violation of the Philippine
Constitution and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners, or the Nelson Mandela Rules.!°

Section 19, sub-section (2) of the Bill of Rights in our Constitution explicitly
commands that, “[t]he employment of physical, psychological, or degrading
punishment against any prisoner or detainee or the use of substandard or inadequate
penal facilities under subhuman conditions shall be dealt with by law.”

On top of these problems of maltreatment of inmates, uneven management of
the jails and prisons and overcrowding of detention centers, there are reports and
recorded instances of official misconduct, corruption, cruelty and plain incompetence
of some personnel manning our jails and correctional facilities."

5 Chavez, Chito, “Jail congestion at 600%, spread of infectious diseases among inmates up by 40%-
BJMP."11 March 2018. Manila Bulletin online. Available at https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/03/11/jail-
congestion-at-600-spread-of-infectious-diseases-among-inmates-up-by-40-bjmp/_<last visited on 11
July 2018> .

Sdson, Guido, “Philippine Jails: Space Jam” 11 December 2017. ABS CBN News online, available at
http://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/12/11/17/philippine-jails-space-jam <last visited on 11 July 2018>

7 Chavez, Chito. Id

® Morales, Neil Jerome, “Jails, Justice System At Breaking Point As Philippine Drugs War Intensifies”
ber 2017 Available https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-

<last visited on 11 July 2018>
° UN Committee against Torture, “Concluding Observations on the Third Periodic Report of the
Philippines”, 2 June 2016. Available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/s7agqb194.html <last visited
on 11 July 2018>
+ Rocamora, Rick, Id.
 Narag, Raymund, and Jones, Clarke, “Understanding Prison Management in the Philippines”. 2017.
Available at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0032885516679366

<last visited on 11 July 2018>



Therefore, apart from the current laudable efforts of modernizing the BuCor
and BJMP, and professionalizing their personnel, pursuant to Republic Act Nos. 10575
and 9263, respectively, there is a need to pass a law that would integrate the
management of all jails and prisons under one agency to have a common standard of.
practice, further professionalize management, and centralize accountability.

Given the fragmented set up of our corrections and jail management system,
the overcrowding of our facilities, the lack of uniformity of standards in the treatment
of persons deprived of liberty, in addition to the challenges of capacitating and
professionalizing the personnel, it is imperative to enact a law that integrates prison
and jail administration into one government authority, which will result in the
efficiency in management, enhancement of standards of treatment of inmates, and
upgrade of facilities.

To fill the policy gaps, this bill seeks to introduce the following reforms in our
correctional system:

1. Integrate into one corrections and jail management system and centralize to
a single government authority the management of all prisons and jails, the
safeguarding of detainees, the custody and reformation of prisoners, and the
supervision and professionalization of all administrative and technical
personnel in our correctional system;

2. To adopt and apply internationally recognized standards and rules in the
treatment of persons deprived of liberty in all the prisons and jails in our
country; and

3. Toestablish the National Commission on Corrections and Jail Management,
in lieu of the BuCor, BJMP and the provincial jail services, to be the central
authority to implement the unified correctional system, and to plan and
carry out integrated services and programs related to its custodial and
reformatory mandates, including the upgrading of its facilities and
equipment, and enhanced professionalization of its officials and employees.

Not only is the bill pushing for unification of prisons and jails. It is also seeking
to regionalize the facilities and correctional services. It is hoped that this will help
decongest our detention centers, and will contribute in shaping and implementing
better programs for the rehabilitation of the prisoners as they will be transferred to
facilities near their domicile or prior habitual residence.

In view of the foregoing, approval of this measure is earnestly sought.

dicesntche

™ Rocamora, Rick, Id.



SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) q
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) : Dk Stee oe

Third Regular Session )
18 WL 18 A017
SENATE
s.No. 1879 ea . iP _

Introduced by SENATOR LEILA M. DE LIMA

. AN ACT

INSTITUTING A UNIFIED CORRECTIONS AND JAIL

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, INTEGRATING THE NATIONAL
PRISONS AND PENAL FARMS, AND THE PROVINCIAL, SUB-
PROVINCIAL, CITY, DISTRICT AND MUNICIPAL JAILS,

ESTABLISHING FOR THE PURPOSE THE NATIONAL

COMMISSION ON CORRECTIONS AND JAIL MANAGEMENT,
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Unified Corrections
and Jail Management System Act of 2018”.

Sec. 2. Deelaration of Policies and Objectives.— The State adopts the
following policies:

a) It shall uphold the welfare and well-being of all persons deprived of liberty
regardJess of their places of detention, whether in a national prison or
correctional facility, or in a provincial, sub-provincial, city, district or
municipal jail; and

b) It shall strengthen the government capability in the custody of detainees,
the safekeeping and reformation of prisoners, the upgrading and
regionalization of facilities, and the professionalization of its personnel
through a unified corrections and jail management system in the country.



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To implement these policies, this Act is being promulgated to fulfil the following

objectives:

a) To adopt internationally recognized standards and rules in the treatment of
all inmates in the different prisons and jails in the country;

b) To integrate into one corrections and jail system and centralize to one
government authority the management of all prisons and jails, the
safeguarding of detainees, the custody and rehabilitation of prisoners, and
the control and supervision over all administrative and technical personnel;
and

¢

To establish the National Commission on Corrections and Jail Management
as an independent central authority to carry out the unified correctional
system, and to plan and implement services and programs related to its
custodial and reformatory mandates, including the upgrading of its facilities
and equipment, regionalization of its facilities, and the professionalization
of its officials and employees.

Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. — For purposes of this Act, the following terms are
hereby defined:

a) Person Deprived of Liberty (PDL). - refers to any person deprived of
personal liberty as a result of conviction for an offence. It shall also refer to a
person arrested or detained by reason of a criminal charge, who is detained
either in police custody or in jail awaiting trial or has not yet been tried and
sentenced.

b) Prisoner or an imprisoned person. - refers to any individual deprived of
personal liberty as a result of conviction for an offense.

©) Detainee. — refers to any individual deprived of personal liberty, who is
detained either in police custody or in jail awaiting trial or has not been tried
and sentenced.

d) Correctional facility. - refers to an institution where persons convicted of
crimes serve their sentences. It includes the prisons and penal farms
previously under the Bureau of Corrections.



e) Detention center. - refers to the facility where individuals are held or
endorsed for temporary deprivation of liberty after arrest.

f) Municipal, city or district jail. — refers to the detention center where
persons deprived of liberty are detained while awaiting or undergoing trial.

£) Provincial or sub-provincial jail. - refers to the correction facility where
persons deprived of liberty who are convicted of imprisonment for three (3)
years or below serve their sentences.

) National prison or regional facility. - refers to the facility where persons
deprived of liberty are committed after conviction for felonies or crimes with
sentence for a period exceeding three (3) years.

8) Nelson Mandela Rules. - refers to rules set out in the 2015 revised United
Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

Sec. 4. Creation of the National Commission on Corrections and Jail
Management.— There is hereby instituted a unified corrections and jail
management system in the country. The National Commission on Corrections and Jail
Management (Commission) is hereby established to carry out such a system
integrating the correctional and jail services currently provided by relevant
government agencies, such as the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), the Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology (BJMP), and the provincial governments. It shall be the
sole authority with jurisdiction over all facilities and premises of national prisons and
penal farms, provincial, sub-provincial, city and municipal jails, and such other
correctional facilities that may be established hereafter. It shall also be responsible for
the custody of detainees, and the safekeeping and rehabilitation of prisoners. Likewise,
it shall exercise control and supervision over all its personnel.

‘The Bureau of Corrections, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and the
correctional and jail services of provincial governments are hereby abolished.

The following facilities shall not, however, be part of the Commission: detention
centers and lock-up cells being maintained by the Armed Forces of the Philippines



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(AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Boys Town, Girls Center, and other existing
youth rehabilitation centers.

Sec. 5. Powers and functions of the Commission.— The Commission
shall have the following powers, duties and functions:

a) To implement the unified corrections and jail management system, and
adopt such rules and regulations necessary to carry out the objectives of this
Act;

b) To recommend policies to improve the unified corrections and jail
management system in the country;

c) Tobe responsible for the safe and efficient custody of the detainees, and the
effective safekeeping and rehabilitation of the prisoners;

d) To exercise supervision and control over all facilities, equipment and
premises of national prisons and penal farms, provincial, sub-provincial,
district, city, and municipal jails;

e) To propose the establishment or abolition of prisons, correctional faci

and jails;

f) Tohire, discipline and manage competent and efficient personnel; and

8) To perform such other functions as may be necessary to carry out its

mandate.

The Commission shall absorb and assume the functions and responsibilities of
the Bureau of Corrections, pursuant to Section 26, Chapter 8, Title III, Book IV of
Executive Order No. 292 (Administrative Code of 1987), and strengthened under
Republic Act No. 10575 (Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013); the Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology (BJMP), pursuant to Republic Act No. 6975 (Department
of Interior and Local Government Act of 1990), and strengthened under Republic Act
No. 9263 (Bureau of Fire and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology
Professionalization Act of 2004); and provincial governments, which maintain
provincial and sub-provincial jail services pursuant to their mandate under Section 17,
sub-section (3) (vi) of Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code).



Sec. 6. Status and Nature of the Commission. - The Commission shall
be independent and autonomous, which shall be attached to the Department of Justice
(Department) solely for program and policy coordination only.

Sec. 7. Structure and Key Positions. - The Commission shall be headed
by a Commissioner, with the rank of Undersecretary, who shall be assisted by two (2)
Deputy Commissioners, with the rank of Assistant Secretaries, all of whom shall be
appointed by the President upon recommendation by the Department Secretary;
Provided, That the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioners shall each be
appointed for a term of seven (7) years; Provided, further, That in times of war or
national emergency declared by Congress, the President may extend such term.

The Commissioner shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Commission and
the presiding officer in its en banc sessions and meetings. He/she shall head the
Operations and Legal Affairs Division, which shall be responsible for the custodial and
reformatory services, security and maintenance of the facilities, and legal affairs of the
Commission. One Deputy Commissioner shall be in charge of the Administration and
Finance Division, which shall be responsible for the management of the personnel,
finances and budgetary requirements of the Commission. The other Deputy
Commissioner shall head the Policy, Planning and Development Division, which shall
handle policy recommendation, and the preparation, implementation and monitoring
of commission-wide programs.

Within 60 days from its constitution, in consultation with the Department of
Budget and Management (DBM) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the
Commission shall approve the organizational structure, including the units under each
division, staffing pattern, and the corresponding functions and delineation of
responsibilities of the different units, officials and employees of the Commission.

In preparing and approving the organizational structure, staffing pattern, and
definition of responsibilities of its officials and employees, the Commission shall be
governed by applicable civil service rules and regulations, particularly on such matters
as non-diminution of rank, salary and benefits of affected employees, and



standardization of base pay, retirement and other benefits of absorbed and newly hired
officials and employees.

Sec. 8. Qualification Standards of the Commissioner and the Deputy
Commissioners. - No person shall be appointed Commissioner or Deputy
Commissioner, unless one possesses the following minimum qualifications:

a) Acitizen of the Republic of the Philippines;

b) A person of good moral character, and mental or psychological fitness;

c) Atleast 40 years old;

d) Must possess a degree and relevant training in law, criminology, penology,
criminal justice, human rights, jail management, or correctional service;
and

) Must have at least 10 years of prior relevant experience working in such
fields as law practice, criminology, criminal justice, penology, human rights,

jail management, or correctional service.

Sec. 9. Appointment of Personnel to the Commission. - All officials and
employees shall be appointed by the Commission, upon recommendation of the
Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner in charge of the Division to which the official
or employee shall be assigned.

Sec. 10. Professionalization and Upgrading of Qualification
Standards in the Appointment of Personnel to the Commission.—In the
appointment of personnel, the Commission shall be governed by the provisions of
Section 11 of Republic Act No. 10575, and Section 7 of Republic Act No. 9263.

In the training of its personnel, the Commission shall establish the Corrections
Training Institute, which shall be patterned after the BuCor's Corrections Training
School/Institute, and BJMP’s Jail National Training Institute.

The Commission shall conduct a study, and make recommendations to
Congress, through the Department Secretary, about the feasible establishment of the
Philippine Corrections Academy for its officers.



Sec. 11. Performance Evaluation System.- The Commission shall
observe the performance appraisal and rating system mandated by Section 18 of
Republic Act No. 10575, and Section 11 of Republic Act No. 9263.

Sec. 12. Promotion System. - In the matter of personnel movement and
promotion, the Commission shall comply with the provisions of Section 17 of Republic
Act No. 10575, and Section 10 of Republic Act No. 9263.

Sec. 13. Human Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty. — Persons
deprived of liberty (PDLs) do not lose their fundamental human rights when they are
placed under detention, or when they are serving sentence. They continue to possess
all human rights for the protection and preservation of life and their inherent dignity
as human persons, which are not incompatible with the objective of reformation
through incarceration or detention. The revised United Nations (UN) Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, or the Nelson Mandela Rules, are
hereby adopted to be the minimum standard of conditions, treatments and rights
available to prisoners and detainees. All other UN guidelines, including those for non-
custodial measures, are likewise adopted and made applicable to all persons deprived
of liberty.

All other basic rights, consistent with the requirements of detention or
incarceration, which are embodied in, or recognized under the Constitution, the laws,
particularly Republic Act No. 7438, and relevant jurisprudence shall likewise be
enjoyed by all persons deprived of liberty.

Sec. 14. Services and Programs. - As the central authority responsible for
the management of prisons and jails, and the custody and rehabilitation of prisoners
and detainees, the Commission shall develop and implement programs on safe and
effective custody of detainees and prisoners, and the rehabilitation and reintegration
of prisoners. It shall ensure that its programs and services shall place special
consideration to the following significant areas of concern:

a) Custody of persons deprived of liberty;



b) Reformation of prisoners;

©) Right to adequate food, water, living and work spaces, and other basic
necessities;

d) Right to adequate legal assistance, access to court, medical and spiritual
support;

e) Right to engage in productive work or livelihood;

f) Right to reasonable contact with the outside world, including visitation,
subject to rules on proper administration and security of the detention
facility,

Sec. 15. Transfer, Merger, and Absorption of Offices and Personnel.
~ All properties, equipment and financial assets of the defunct Bureau of Corrections
and the national jails and penal farms; of the provincial and sub-provincial jails; and
of the defunct BJMP and the existing district and city or municipal jails, shall be
transferred to the Commission. The transfer, merger, and/or absorption of the affected
offices shall cover the functions, official records, equipment, facilities, choses in action,
assets, liabilities, if any, and the existing personnel thereof. Those personnel whose
positions or functions are not included in the new organizational structure and staffing
pattern approved by the Department Secretary, or who are not reappointed, shall be
allowed to retire under existing laws, rules and regulations. Otherwise, they shall be
deemed separated from the service, and shall paid a gratuity equivalent to one and
one-fourth (1 /) months basic salary for every year of service or a fraction thereof.

Sec. 16. Retirement Age of Uniformed Personnel of the Defunct
BuCor and BJMP. - Any uniformed personnel of the defunct BuCor and BJMP,
who shall be absorbed by the Commission may, upon reaching the age of fifty-six (56)
years, retire in accordance with Republic Act No. 6975 or Republic Act No. 10575. If
he/she opts to remain in the service, he shall be retired in accordance with
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Retirement System under Presidential
Decree No. 1146, as amended.

Sec. 17. Retirement Benefits.— Upon compulsory retirement, any uniformed
officer of the Commission shall be entitled to retirement benefits computed on the
basis of one (1) grade higher than the position last held: Provided, That the retirement



pay shall be subject to adjustment based on the prevailing scale of base pay for
uniformed persoinel in the active service.

Sec. 18. Establishment and Maintenance of Prisons, Penal Farms
and Jails.— The existing provincial, sub-provincial, district, city and municipal jails
shall continue to function as such, but under the authority and management of the
Commission. The Commission shall periodically conduct a study of the conditions of
these jails, and, if warranted, shall recommend to Congress the establishment of
additional or appropriate jails. The provincial and sub-provincial jails shall be the
detention facilities for prisoners serving sentences with penalties of imprisonment for
three (3) years and below. The district, city and municipal jails shall be for detainees,
who fail to post bail and are awaiting sentences.

The national prisons and correctional facilities shall include the existing national
prisons and penal colonies such as the New Bilibid Prison; Correctional Institution for
Women; Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm; Davao Prison and Penal Farm, Sablayan
Prison and Penal Farm; Leyte Regional Prison; and San Ramon Prison and Penal
Farm. Following periodic studies on the conditions of these facilities, the Commission
may recommend to Congress the establishment of additional or appropriate prisons
or correctional facilities. These facilities shall be the detention centers of prisoners
who are serving sentences with penalties of imprisonment of at least three (3) years
and one (1) day.

Sec. 19. Regional Correctional Facilities. — The national prisons and
penal farms mentioned in Section 18 are hereby repurposed for use as regional
correctional facilities, without prejudice to the establishment of such additional
facilities to be recommended by the Commission and approved by Congress in
appropriate legislation. These regional facilities shall be established to serve all the
administrative regions in the country, including the National Capital Region (NCR),
the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM).

Prisoners shall be transferred to the regional facilities nearest their domicile or
prior habitual residence. The rules and guidelines for this disengagement of national


prisons and penal colonies, as well as the transfer of prisoners, shall be issued by the
Commission.

Sec. 20. Power of the Commission to Classify Prisoners, and to Order
their Transfer. — Upon the effectivity of this Act, the Commission shall issue rules
and regulations pertaining to the classification, commitment and transfer of the
prisoners and detainees, taking into account their age, mental health, incorrigibility or
recidivism, nature and gravity of the offense committed, penalty or sentence imposed
on them, and such other circumstances as may assist in determining to which
correctional facility they shall be properly placed, with the end in view of decongesting
the prisons and jails and promoting the welfare and well-being of the persons deprived
of liberty. .

Following a set of criteria and defined rules, the Commission may order the
transfer of a prisoner or detainee to another facility considering such circumstances as
the behavior of the prisoner or detainee, and such relevant factors as the security and
orderly administration of his/her current place of detention.

Sec. 21. Transition Monitoring Panel.- A Transition Monitoring Panel
shall be created to be composed of the Secretary of Justice as Chair, and as members,
the Secretaries of the Department of Interior and Local Government and the
Department of Budget and Management, the Chair of the Civil Service Commission,
the Commissioner of the Commission, and the Chairs of the committees of the Senate
and House of Representatives on justice, human rights and public order. The
Committee shall oversee the expeditious and efficient implementation of the transfer
to, and absorption of the Commission of the personnel, properties, finances and
records of the BuCor, including the national prisons and penal farms; of the BJMP,
including the existing district, city and municipal jails; and of the provincial
governments pertaining to provincial and sub-provincial jails. The report/s of the
Transition Panel shall be submitted to the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee,
with copies to be furnished to the Secretary of Justice and the Commission.

Sec. 22. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee.—There is hereby
created a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee to monitor the implementation of



this Act. The Oversight Committee shall be composed of five (5) Senators and five (5)
Representatives to be appointed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, respectively. It shall be co-chaired by a Senator and a
Representative to be designated by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House

appropriations of Congress.

1

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3

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5 _ of Representatives, respectively. Its funding requirement shall be charged against the
6

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8 Sec. 23. Implementation. - The implementation of this Act shall be carried
9

out in four (4) stages:

10

u a) STAGE I - Inventory and absorption by the Commission of all personnel,
12 properties, equipment, records, appropriations, and finances of the
13 transferred and absorbed offices, to be completed within six (6) months
14 from effectivity of this Act.

15 b) STAGE II - Recruitment of additional personnel to cover all prisons and
16 jails, to be completed within six (6) months from effectivity of this Act. To
7 accomplish the task of Stage II, special funds therefor shall be appropriated
18 upon the effectivity of this Act.

19 ©) STAGE III - Approval by the Commission of its organizational structure,
20 and the preparation and filling up of its staffing pattern, to be completed
21 within twelve (12) months from the effectivity of this Act.

22 d) STAGE IV - Conversion of the rank of the uniformed personnel of the
2B defunct BJMP and BuCor into its equivalent rank/position in the
24 Commission, and the rationalization of compensation and retirement
25 systems, taking into consideration the existing compensation schemes and
26 retirement and separation benefit systems of the transferred and absorbed
27 offices, to ensure that no employee of the BuCor and BJMP shall suffer any
28 diminution in basic longevity and incentive pays, allowances and retirement
29 benefits due them before the creation of the Commission, to be completed
30 within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Act.

31

32 Upon the effectivity of this Act, the present BuCor, as well as the BUMP, shall

33 cease to exist. The incumbent Director-General of the defunct Bureau of Corrections



shall act as the Commissioner of the Commission until such time as he/shall have been
replaced by the President.

Sec. 24. Funding. - For purposes of organizing and constituting the
Commission, and for carrying out the provisions of this Act, the appropriations for the
current fiscal year of the transferred and abolished offices hereof shall be transferred
to the Commission. Thereafter, such amounts as may be necessary to carry out the
provisions of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Sec. 25. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within six (6) months
from the effectivity of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate rules and regulations
necessary to ensure the effective implementation of this Act.

Sec. 26. Separability Clause. - If any portion of this Act is declared
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other
provisions not affected thereby.

Sec. 27. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and
regulations and other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with his Act
are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

Sec. 28. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following
its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of

general circulation.

Approved,