NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
) 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez 
House Bill No.  _____ 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
According to data of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), as of 
September, 2010, there are 62,556 inmates detained (sentenced and merely detained) in jails 
all over the country. And based on data from the year 2000 to 2009, the number of detainees 
increase at an annual rate of 6.17%. At this rate, by the end of the year 2011, there would be 
around 66,179 detainees and by the end of year 2012, there would be around 70, 263 
detainees locked-up.  
As of March 2019, the BJMP accommodates 136,881 Persons Deprived of Liberty 
(PDL), even as the 476 jail facilities managed by the bureau nationwide can only cater to 
almost 30,000 PDLs. This amounts to around a 440% congestion rate.  
To help address this problem, the budget of the Bureau of Jail Management and 
Penology (BJMP) for 2019 has been increased to PhP18.9 billion. This is where they will get 
the funding to build new jails, pay for the salaries of all their personnel and provide for the 
basic necessities of inmates. Given the number of detainees, the appropriated budget may 
not be enough. BJMP officials say that the BJMP is on the budget’s end list because it spends 
a lot of money with no returns. 
It is apparent that the BJMP does not have enough funding to sustain and give the 
inmates the basic necessities that the Constitution requires. It is therefore necessary to find 
alternative sources of revenue for the BVMP and one alternative source is the pay-jail scheme 
being implemented in some states in the United States.  
The pay-jail scheme started in the US around the early 1990’s and is a jail cell upgrade 
for non-violent offenders in jail costing from 75$ to 171$ a night. Under this “upgrade” inmates 
are allowed to bring cellphones, laptops or other electronic devices in their cell or watch TV in 
the common room. Some may even get to leave during the day to go to work. Inmates are 
allowed to roam the prison campus, which are not necessarily fenced. This “upgrade” is 
usually offered to offenders whose crimes are usually relatively minor and is subject to the 
approval of the Courts.  
Some benefits and advantages that this “upgrade” provides is the fact that prisoners 
are safe from prison gangs and other dangerous prisoners and they may have their food 
delivered to their cells rather than going the jail's cafeteria or they may choose to enjoy meals 
brought by their families during visiting hours.  
Among the arguments that are raised against this scheme is that the system create 
inherent injustices, offering cleaner, safer alternatives to those who can pay and that it would 
be little unfair because if two people come in and have the same offense, the guy who has 
money gets to pay to stay and the other doesn’t.  
March 16, 2023
7:00 pm
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While this may be true, the payment that will be receive would be a source of funding 
to augment the budget given and could also cover the operating expenses that the jails incur 
which would lead to improved services and living conditions for the general inmate population. 
And the fact that there are certain benefits given to paying inmates, it is still a restriction on 
the freedom of the inmate and as one inmate, who paid to be “upgraded” said, the experience 
was one she never cared to repeat because it may look decent but you still feel exactly where 
you are. 
 
 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
       RUFUS B. RODRIGUEZ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
) 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Introduced by Representative Rufus B. Rodriguez 
House Bill No.  _____ 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A PAY-JAIL SCHEME UPGRADE TO 
CERTAIN QUALIFIED INMATES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy – It is the policy of the State to prohibit the use of 
substandard or inadequate penal facilities under subhuman conditions. 
SEC. 2. A pay-jail scheme upgrade is hereby authorized to be offered and implemented in 
jails all over the country whereby certain qualified inmates may be granted certain amenities 
and benefits not available to others for a fee. 
SEC. 3. Qualifications – To be qualified to the pay-jail upgrade scheme, an inmate must be 
either: 
a. Charged with and/or convicted of a felony that carries with it the penalty of prision
correctional or lower; or
b. Charged with and/or convicted of a crime with a penalty of imprisonment of not
more than six years;
Provided, That said inmate has never been previously charged with and/or convicted of any 
crime or felony. 
SEC. 4. All amounts collected from this scheme shall be exclusively used by the Bureau of 
Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) for the benefit of other inmates in jails all over the 
country.  
SEC. 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations.  The  BJMP shall  promulgate  such  rules  and 
regulations  as  necessary  to  implement  the provisions of this act.  
SEC. 6.  Repealing Clause – Any provision of law, decree, orders, rules and regulations 
contrary thereto is hereby repealed or modified accordingly.   
SEC. 7. Separability Clause. – Should any provision of this Act be declared unconstitutional, 
the same shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 8.  Effectivity Clause – This Act  shall  take  effect  fifteen  (15)  days  after  its complete 
publication  in  the  Official  Gazette  or  in  at  least  two  newspaper  of  general circulation, 
whichever comes earlier.  
Approved, 
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