Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippines has a fragmented jail management system: Prisons and penal farms 
are under the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) of the Department of Justice; the 
provincial jails are under the provincial governments; and the district, city and 
municipal jails are under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) of the 
Department of Interior and Local Government. 
Disparate set of rules is not conducive to efficient and effective management of our 
facilities and the reformation of prisoners. Mismanagement results in unintended 
consequences such as overcrowding, jail disturbances, poor sanitation, maltreatment 
and many others.  
This proposed measure seeks to integrate the management of all jails and prisons 
under one agency to have a common standard of practice, further professionalize 
management, and centralize accountability. It likewise hopes to help decongest our 
detention centers and implement better programs for the rehabilitation of the 
prisoners. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this measure is earnestly sought. 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
May 15, 2023
9:00 am
8101


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
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.” 
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. – The State adopts the following policies: 
a) 
It shall uphold the welfare and well-being of all persons deprived of liberty 
regardless 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.
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 
8101


 
 
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 
 
c) 
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 the 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 offense. 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. 
 
c) 
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 
currently 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. 
 
g) 
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. 
 
h) 
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. 
 
i)  
Nelson Mandela Rules – refers to the rules set out in the 2015 revised United 
Nations (UN) 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 BuCor, BJMP, 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 


 
 
(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) 
To be 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 facilities and 
jails; 
 
f) 
To hire, discipline and manage competent and efficient personnel; and 
 
g) 
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 sixty (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) 
A citizen of the Republic of the Philippines; 
b) 
A person of good moral character, and mental or psychological fitness; 
c) 
At least 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 
e) 
Must have at least five (5) 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 National Jail Management and Penology 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 UN Standard Minimum Rules for the 
Treatment of Prisoners, or the Nelson Mandela Rules, are hereby adopted to be the 
minimum standard of conditions, treatment 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; 


 
 
c) 
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; and 
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 BuCor 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 be paid a gratuity equivalent to one and one 
fourth (1 ¼) 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 personnel 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 1 
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 other such circumstances as may assist in determining to which correctional 
facility they shall be properly placed, for the purpose 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 other 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 DBM, the 
Chair of the CSC, 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 by 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 of Representatives, respectively. Its funding requirement shall be charged 
against the appropriations of Congress. 
 
Sec. 23. Implementation. – The implementation of this Act shall be carried out in four 
(4) stages: 
a) 
STAGE I – Inventory and absorption by the Commission of all personnel, 
properties, equipment, records, appropriations, and finances of the 
transferred and absorbed offices, to be completed within six (6) months from 
the effectivity of this Act. 
 
b) 
STAGE II – Recruitment of additional personnel to cover all prisons and jails, 
to be completed within six (6) months from effectivity of this Act. To 
accomplish the task of Stage II, special funds therefor shall be appropriated 
upon the effectivity of this Act. 
 
c) 
STAGE III – Approval by the Commission of its organizational structure, and 
the preparation and filling up of staffing pattern, to be completed within twelve 
(12) months from the effectivity of this Act. 
 
d) 
STAGE IV – Conversion of the rank of the uniformed personnel of the defunct 
BJMP and BuCor into its equivalent rank/position in the Commission, and the 
rationalization of compensation and retirement systems, taking into 
consideration the existing compensation schemes and retirement and 
separation benefit systems of the transferred and absorbed offices, to ensure 
that no employee of the BuCor and BJMP shall suffer any diminution in basic 
longevity and incentive pays, allowances and retirement benefits due them 
before the creation of the Commission,' to be completed within (2) years from 
the effectivity of this Act. 
 
Upon the effectivity of this Act, the present BuCor, as well as the BJMP, shall cease to 
exist. The incumbent Director-General of the defunct BuCor shall act as the 
Commissioner of the Commission until such time as he/she 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 this 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,