Republic of the Philippines /
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES fs
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Nineteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO._544

Introduced by Rep. DANILO RAMON S. FERNANDEZ

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In the Philippine correctional system, only the National Bilibid
Prison (NBP) has a complete educational program from primary to
tertiary levels. Formal education is not offered in the six (6) other
correctional facilities located all over the country (the so-called national
prisons or penitentiaries managed and supervised by the Bureau of
Corrections). There, as in the hundreds of provincial, district, city and
municipal jails managed and supervised by the provincial governments
and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), only the
alternative learning system and vocational and technical courses are
offered.

This is rather unfortunate since studies after studies have
consistently shown that prison education is a proven strategy for: (1)
reducing criminal recidivism; and (2) improving economic opportunities
for individuals serving prison sentences, as well as former inmates
transitioning into civilian life.

Prison education is beneficial to society for a number of reasons. It
helps mitigate some of the sociological drivers to criminal behavior and
incarceration, such as economic disadvantage and racial inequality. In
addition, formal education imparts to the inmates not only literacy but
also social skills, including methods and approaches in dealing with their
emotions. Couple these with spiritual education and values formation,
and there is a better chance of having prisoners ready to be reintegrated
into the mainstream of society.

It is not only the inmates who stand to benefit from formal
schooling inside the prisons, but society as well. With less recidivism, we



expect to witness safer neighborhoods, more vibrant communities (since
former prisoners could become productive members of society once
again), and less tax burden upon the ordinary citizens in maintaining an
enormous prison system.

At a time when Congress, through the legal system, has enacted a
raft of measures providing for compulsory elementary education, free
secondary education and universal access to quality tertiary education, it
is sincerely hoped that our prisoners would not be left behind. At the very
least, they should be given a second chance in life.

Finally, it must remembered that our country is a State Party to the
United Nations Minimum Standards for the Treatment of Prisoners.
Construe this international treaty/convention obligation with the
provision of our very own 1987 Constitution which states that “the use of
substandard or inadequate penal facilities under subhuman conditions
shall be dealt with by law” [Section 19, paragraph (2) of Article IIT].

In view of all the foregoing considerations, the early approval of
this bill is earnestly requested.

DANILO RAMON S. FERNANDEZ
Lone District of Santa Rosa City, Laguna


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Nineteenth Congress
First Regular Session

Z
HOUSE BILL NO. 544

Introduced by Rep. DANILO RAMON S. FERNANDEZ

AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING A SYSTEM OF FREE FORMAL
EDUCATION FROM ELEMENTARY TO TERTIARY LEVELS
FOR PRISONERS IN ALL PENAL INSTITUTIONS, PROVIDING
FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Prison
Education Act of 2020.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. —\t is hereby declared that quality
education is an inalienable right of all Filipinos and that it is the policy of
the State to protect and promote the rights of all citizens to quality
education at all levels. Therefore, the State shall take appropriate steps to
make such education accessible to all.

Further, it is the policy of the State to promote the general welfare
and safeguard the basic rights of every prisoner incarcerated in our penal
institutions. It recognizes the responsibility of the State to put in place a
truly reformative and rehabilitative prison system.

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

(a) Alternative Learning System (ALS) — refers to a program
implemented by the Department of Education (DepEd) which provides
basic literacy and livelihood skills to inmates, among others, without
going through regular classes;

(b) Correctional facilities — include the country’s prisons under the
management and supervision of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), jails


[municipal, city and district] and detention centers under the management
and supervision of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP),
and provincial and sub-provincial jails under the management and
supervision of the provincial governments;

(c) Inmates — refer to persons deprived of liberty as a result of
conviction for an offense. They shall include detainees who are awaiting
trial or who are undergoing trial, as well as those serving short sentences
but exclude detainees who are under investigation;

(d) Penal institutions — shall be used interchangeably with
correctional facilities; and

(e) Prisoners — shall have the same meaning as inmates.

SEC. 4. Implementation of A System of Free Formal Education At
All Levels In Penal Institutions. — The BuCor, the BJMP, and the
provincial governments, in coordination with the DepEd and the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED), shall establish and implement
a system of free formal education from elementary to tertiary levels to be
conducted on-site in all penal institutions throughout the country.

In the establishment and operation of such formal schooling, the
safety and welfare of both the teachers and the inmates shall be
paramount considerations.

SEC. 5. Curriculum. — In the implementation of the school-in-
prison program, the DepEd and the CHED shall follow the same curricula
as prescribed in their regular academic programs.

SEC. 6. Faculty. — All the teachers assigned or recruited under the
program shall undergo a special training in correctional education. They
shall be entitled to reasonable traveling expenses, to and from the
correctional facility, and to hazard pay.

The DepEd shall train qualified full-time teachers for the program,
who preferably shall be residents of the barangay, municipality, city or
province where the correctional facility is located.

The CHED shall establish linkages with the Local University or
College (LUC) or State University or College (SUC) nearest to the
correctional facility, which is willing to become an educational partner
under the program, for purposes of recruiting qualified faculty members.

In case of absence or shortage of professional teachers from the
DepEd and/or the CHED, full-time employees of the Education Section
of the BuCor and the BJMP, as applicable, may be recruited as faculty
members under the program, subject to accreditation by the DepEd and


the CHED. In no case, however, shall volunteers from NonGovernmental
Organizations (NGOs) or any other civic or private organization shall be
recruited as teachers.

SEC. 7. Inmate-Students. All prisoners from the three (3) security
groupings — minimum, medium and maximum — as well as those awaiting
trial, undergoing trial or convicted with short sentences, shall be given
access to education under the program. However, the concerned
correctional facility shall adopt a rigid screening process that shall
include a panel interview, in order to determine the desire to study and
the current academic level of the applicants and to exclude probably
unmotivated or disruptive students from the program.

SEC. 8. Infrastructure and Facilities. ~ Subject to the availability
of a parcel of land, there shall be constructed a building in all penal
institutions which shall house, among other facilities, classrooms, a
computer room, an audio-visual room and a library for the on-site
implementation of the program. In the absence of an available lot, the
visitors / reception area, recreation area, prison chapel, and any other
common area(s) shall be utilized for the implementation of the program.

SEC. 9. Alternative Learning System (ALS), Vocational-Technical
and/or Correspondence Courses. ~ The existing Alternative Learning
System (ALS), vocational-technical, and/or correspondence courses, if
any, in the various penal institutions of the country shall be continued and
strengthened.

SEC. 10. Credits or Allowance for Good Behavior. — Participation
in the formal education system under this Act shall entitle the inmates
reasonable credits or allowance for good behavior.

SEC. 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within one
hundred and twenty (120) days from the effectivity of this Act, the
BuCor, the BJMP and the Department of the Interior and Local
Government [in behalf of the provincial governments], together with the
DepEd and the CHED, shall promulgate the Implementing Rules and
Regulations (IRR).

SEC. 12. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to carry out the
provisions of this Act shall be included in the annual General
Appropriations Act.

SEC. 13. 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 so affected.


SEC. 14. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, issuances,
rules and regulations which are inconsistent with the provisions of this
Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 15. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publication either in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of

general circulation in the Philippines.

Approved,