EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
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'19 JUL-2 Pl:30
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Introduced bv 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, SUBPROVINCIAL, 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 Justice1; the provincial jails, under the 
provincial governments2 3; while the district, city and municipal jails, under the 
Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) of the Department of Interior and 
Local Government3.
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.
1 Executive Order No. 292 (Administrative Code of 1987), Section 26, Chapter 8, Title III, Book IV.
2 Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Govermnent 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)


Worse, we have the highest jail congestion rate in the world.4 In February 
2018, the population of inmates in district, city, municipal jails, female dorms, 
special intensive care areas, and infirmaries under BJMP’s jurisdiction is at 145,476.5 
Our 466 jails nationwide have a collective capacity of only 20,399 inmates.4 5 6 7 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 9
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 qualily 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.10
Section 19, sub-section (2) of the Bill of Rights in our Constitution explicitly 
commands that “[t]he employment of physical, psychological, or degrading
4 Rocamora, 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 8 April 2019>
5 Chavez, Chito, "Jail congestion at 600° o, spread of infectious diseases among inmates up by 40%—BJMP" 11 
March 2018. Manila Bulletin online. Available at https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/03/1 l/jail-congestion-at-600- 
spread-of-infectious-diseases-among-inmates-up-by-40-bjmp/ <last visited on 8 April 2019>
6 Edson, Guido, "Philippine Jails: Space Jam " 11 December 2017. ABS CBN News online. Available at 
http://news.abs-cbn.eom/focus/12/l 1/17/philippine-jails-space-jam <last visited on 8 April 2019>
7 Chavez, Chito. Id.
8 Morales, Neil Jerome, "Jails, Justice System At Breaking Point As Philippine Drug War Intensifies " 1 
September 2017. Reuters.com. Avalable at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-justice/jails-justice- 
system-at-breaking-point-as-philippine-drugs-war-intensifies-idUSKCNlBB39F <last visited on 8 April 2019>
9 UN Committee against Torture, "Concluding Obesr\’ations on the Third Periodic Report of the Philippines", 2 
June 2016. Available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/57a99bl94.html <last visited on 8 April 2019>
10 Rocamora, Rick. Id.


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.11
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.12
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 
corrections 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. To establish the National Commission on Corrections and Jail 
Management in lieu of the BuCor, BJMP and the provincial jail services, as
11 Narag, Raymund, and Jones, Clarke, "Understanding Prison Management in the Philippines". 2017. 
Available at https://joumals.sagepub.coin/doi/pdC'10.1177/0032885516679366 <last visited on 8 April 2019>
12 Rocamora, Rick, Id.


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.
lJe il a m . DE LikA.


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE 
S. No. IS 1
c( tijc s v  :rcfn rp
■19 JUL-2 PI :30
R E C E IV 'D  B \:
Introduced by SENATOR LEILA M. DE LIMA
AN ACT
INSTITUTING A UNIFIED CORRECT IONS 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:
1 
Section i. Short Title. -  This Act shall be known as the “Unified Corrections and
2 
Jail Management System Act of 2019.”
3 
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. -  The State adopts the following policies:
4 
a) It shall uphold the welfare and well-being of all persons deprived of liberty
5 
regardless of their places of detention, whether in a national prison or
6 
correctional facility, or in a provincial, sub-provincial, city, district or
7 
municipal jail; and
8 
b) It shall strengthen the government capability in the custody of detainees, the
9 
safekeeping 
and 
reformation 
of prisoners, 
the 
upgrading 
and
10 
regionalization of facilities, and the professionalization of its personnel
11 
through a unified corrections and jail management system in the country.
12 
To implement these policies, this Act is being promulgated to fulfil the following
13 
objectives:


1 
a) To adopt internationally recognized standards and rules in the treatment of
2 
all inmates in the different prisons and jails in the country;
3 
b) To integrate into one corrections and jail system and centralize to one
4 
government authority the management of all prisons and jails, the
5 
safeguarding of detainees, the custody and rehabilitation of prisoners, and
6 
the control and supervision over all administrative and technical personnel;
7 
and
8 
c) To establish the National Commission on Corrections and Jail Management
9 
as an independent central authority to carry out the unified correctional
10 
system, and to plan and implement ser\ices and programs related to its
11 
custodial and reformatory mandates, including the upgrading of its facilities
12 
and equipment, regionalization of its facilities, and the professionalization
13 
of its officials and employees.
14 
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. -  For the purposes of this Act, the following terms
15 
are hereby defined:
16 
a) Person Deprived of Liberty (PDL) -  refers to any person deprived of
17 
personal liberty as a result of conviction for an offense. It shall also refer to
18 
a person arrested or detained by reason of a criminal charge, who is detained
19 
either in police custody or in jail awaiting trial or has not yet been tried and
20 
sentenced.
21 
b) Prisoner or an imprisoned person -  refers to any individual deprived of
22 
personal liberty as a result of conviction for an offense.
23 
c) Detainee -  refers to any individual deprived of personal liberty who is
24 
detained either in police custody or in jail awaiting trial or has not been tried
25 
and sentenced.
26 
d) Correetional facility -  refers to an institution where persons convicted of
27 
crimes serve their sentences. It includes the prisons and penal farms
28 
currently under the Bureau of Corrections.
29 
e) Detention center -refers to the facility where individuals are held or
30 
endorsed for temporary deprivation of liberty after arrest.
31 
f) Municipal, city or district jail -  refers to the detention center where persons
32 
deprived of liberty are detained while awaiting or undergoing trial.


1 
g) Provincial or sub-provincial jail — refers to the correction facility where
2 
persons deprived of liberty who are convicted of imprisonment for three (3)
3 
years or below serve their sentences.
4 
h) National prison or regional facility -  refers to the facility where persons
5 
deprived of liberty are committed after conviction for felonies or crimes with
6 
sentence for a period exceeding three (3) years.
7 
i) Nelson Mandela Rules -  refers to the rules set out in the 2015 revised United
8 
Nations (UN) Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
9 
Sec. 4. Creation of the National Commission on Corrections and Jail
10 
Management. -  There is hereby instituted a unified corrections and jail management
11 
system in the country. The National Commission on Corrections and Jail Management
12 
(Commission) is hereby established to carry out such a system integrating the
13 
correctional and jail services currently provided by relevant government agencies,
14 
such as the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), the Bureau of Jail Management and
15 
Penology (BJMP), and the provincial governments. It shall be the sole authority with
16 
jurisdiction over all facilities and premises of national prisons and penal farms,
17 
provincial, sub-provincial, city and municipal jails, and such other correctional
18 
facilities that may be established hereafter. It shall also be responsible for the custody
19 
of detainees, and the safekeeping and rehabilitation of prisoners. Likewise, it shall
20 
exercise control and supervision over all its personnel.
21 
The BuCor, BJMP, and the correctional and jail services of provincial
22 
governments are hereby abolished.
23 
The following facilities shall not, however, be part of the Commission: detention
24 
centers and lock-up cells being maintained by the Armed Forces of the Philippines
25 
(AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Boys Town, Girls Center, and other existing
26 
youth rehabilitation centers.
27 
Sec. 5. Powers and functions of the Commission. -  The Commission shall have
28 
the following powers, duties and functions:
29 
a) To implement the unified corrections and jail management system, and
30 
adopt such rules and regulations necessary to carry out the objectives of this
31 
Act;


1 
b) To recommend policies to improve the unified corrections and jail
2 
management system in the country;
3 
c) To be responsible for the safe and efficient custody of the detainees, and the
4 
effective safekeeping and rehabilitation of the prisoners;
5 
d) To exercise supervision and control over all facilities, equipment and
6 
premises of national prisons and penal farms, provincial, sub-pro\incial,
7 
district, city, and municipal jails;
8 
e) To propose the establishment or abolition of prisons, correctional facilities
9 
and jails;
10 
f) To hire, discipline and manage competent and efficient personnel; and
11 
g) To perform such other functions as may be necessary to carry out its
12 
mandate.
13 
The Commission shall absorb and assume the functions and responsibilities of
14 
the Bureau of Corrections, pursuant to Section 26, Chapter 8, Title III, Book IV of
15 
Executive Order No. 292 (Administrative Code of 1987), and strengthened under
16 
Republic Act No. 10575 (Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013); the Bureau of Jail
17 
Management and Penology (BJMP), pursuant to Republic Act No. 6975 (Department
18 
of Interior and Local Government Act of 1990), and strengthened under Republic Act
19 
No. 9263 (Bureau of Fire and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology
20 
Professionalization Act of 2004); and provincial governments, which maintain
21 
provincial and sub-provincial jail services pursuant to their mandate under Section 17,
22 
sub-section (3) (vi) of Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code).
23 
Sec. 6. Status and Nature of the Commission. -  The Commission shall be
24 
independent and autonomous, which shall be attached to the Department of Justice
25 
(Department) solely for program and policy coordination only.
26 
Sec. 7. Structure and Key Positions. -  The Commission shall be headed by a
27 
Commissioner, with the rank of Undersecretary, who shall be assisted by two (2)
28 
Deputy Commissioners, with the rank of Assistant Secretaries, all of whom shall be
29 
appointed by the President upon recommendation by the Department Secretary;
30 
Provided, That the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioners shall each be
31 
appointed for a term of seven (7) years; Provided, further. That in times of war or
32 
national emergency declared by Congress, the President may extend such term.


1 
The Commissioner shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Commission and
2 
the presiding officer in its en banc sessions and meetings. He/she shall head the
3 
Operations and Legal Affairs Division, which shall be responsible for the custodial and
4 
reformatory services, security and maintenance of the facilities, and legal affairs of the
5 
Commission. One Deputy Commissioner shall be in charge of the Administration and
6 
Finance Division, which shall be responsible for the management of the personnel,
7 
finances and budgetary requirements of the Commission. The other Deputy
8 
Commissioner shall head the Policy, Planning and Development Division, which shall
9 
handle policy recommendation, and the preparation, implementation and monitoring
10 
of commission-wide programs.
11 
Within sixty (6o) days from its constitution, in consultation with the
12 
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Civil Service Commission
13 
(CSC), the Commission shall approve the organizational structure, including the units
14 
under each division, staffing pattern, and the corresponding functions and delineation
15 
of responsibilities of the different units, officials and employees of the Commission.
16 
In preparing and approving the organizational structure, staffing pattern, and
17 
definition of responsibilities of its officials and employees, the Commission shall be
18 
governed by applicable civil service rules and regulations, particularly on such matters
19 
as non-diminution of rank, salary and benefits of affected employees, and
20 
standardization of base pay, retirement and other benefits of absorbed and newly hired
21 
officials and employees.
22 
Sec. 8. Qualification Standards of the Commissioner and the Deputy
23 
Commissioners. -  No person shall be appointed Commissioner or Deputy
24 
Commissioner, unless one possesses the following minimum qualifications:
25 
a) A citizen of the Republic of the Philippines;
26 
b) A person of good moral character, and mental or psychological fitness;
27 
c) At least 40 years old;
28 
d) Must possess a degree and relevant training in law, criminology, penology,
29 
criminal justice, human rights, jail management, or correctional service;
30 
and
31 
e) Must have at least five (5) years of prior relevant experience working in such
32 
fields as law practice, criminology, criminal justice, penology, human rights,
33 
jail management, or correctional service.


1 
Sec. 9. Appointment of Personnel to the Commission. -  All officials and
2 
employees shall be appointed by the Commission, upon recommendation of the
3 
Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner in charge of the Division to which the official
4 
or employee shall be assigned.
5 
Sec. 10. Professionalization and Upgrading of Qualification Standards in the
6 
Appointment of Personnel to the Commission. -  In the appointment of personnel, the
7 
Commission shall be governed by the provisions of Section 11 of Republic Act No.
8 
10575, and Section 7 of Republic Act No. 9263.
9 
In the training of its personnel, the Commission shall establish the Corrections
10 
Training Institute, which shall be patterned after the BuCor’s Corrections Training
11 
School/Institute, and BJMP’s National Jail Management and Penology Training
12 
Institute.
13 
The Commission shall conduct a study, and make recommendations to
14 
Congress, through the Department Secretary, about the feasible establishment of the
15 
Philippine Corrections Academy for its officers.
16 
Sec. 11. Performance Evaluation System. -  The Commission shall observre the
17 
performance appraisal and rating system mandated by Section 18 of Republic Act No.
18 
10575, and Section 11 of Republic Act No. 9263.
19 
Sec. 12. Promotion System. -  In the matter of personnel movement and
20 
promotion, the Commission shall comply with the provisions of Section 17 of Republic
21 
Act No. 10575, and Section 10 of Republic Act No. 9263.
22 
Sec. 13. Human Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty. -  Persons deprived of
23 
liberty (PDLs) do not lose their fundamental human rights when they are placed under
24 
detention, or when they are serving sentence. They continue to possess all human
25 
rights for the protection and preservation of life and their inherent dignity as human
26 
persons, which are not incompatible with the objective of reformation through
27 
incarceration or detention. The revised UN Standard Minimum Rules for the
28 
Treatment of Prisoners, or the Nelson Mandela Rules, are hereby adopted to be the
29 
minimum standard of conditions, treatment and rights available to prisoners and
30 
detainees. All other UN guidelines, including those for non-custodial measures, are
31 
likewise adopted and made applicable to all persons deprived of liberty.


1 
All other basic rights, consistent with the requirements of detention or
2 
incarceration, which are embodied in, or recognized under the Constitution, the laws,
3 
particularly Republic Act No. 7438, and relevant jurisprudence shall likewise be
4 
enjoyed by all persons deprived of liberty.
5 
Sec. 14. Services and Programs. -  As the central authority responsible for the
6 
management of prisons and jails, and the custody and rehabilitation of prisoners and
7 
detainees, the Commission shall develop and implement programs on safe and
8 
effective custody of detainees and prisoners, and the rehabilitation and reintegration
9 
of prisoners. It shall ensure that its programs and services shall place special
10 
consideration to the following significant areas of concern:
11 
a) Custody of persons deprived of liberty;
12 
b) Reformation of prisoners;
13 
c) Right to adequate food, water, living and work spaces, and other basic
14 
necessities;
15 
d) Right to adequate legal assistance, access to court, medical and spiritual
16 
support;
17 
e) Right to engage in productive work or livelihood; and
18 
f) Right to reasonable contact with the outside world, including visitation,
19 
subject to rules on proper administration and security of the detention
20 
facility.
21 
Sec. 15. Transfer, Merger, and Absorption of Offices and Personnel. -  All
22 
properties, equipment and financial assets of the defunct BuCor and the national jails
23 
and penal farms; of the provincial and sub-provincial jails; and of the defunct BJMP
24 
and the existing district and city or municipal jails, shall be transferred to the
25 
Commission. The transfer, merger, and/or absorption of the affected offices shall
26 
cover the functions, official records, equipment, facilities, choses in action, assets,
27 
liabilities, if any, and the existing personnel thereof. Those personnel whose positions
28 
or functions are not included in the new organizational structure and staffing pattern
29 
approved by the Department Secretary, or who are not reappointed, shall be allowred
30 
to retire under existing laws, rules and regulations. Otherwise, they shall be deemed
31 
separated from the service, and shall be paid a gratuity equivalent to one and one-
32 
fourth (1 V4) months basic salary for every year of service or a fraction thereof.


1 
Sec. i6. Retirement Age of Uniformed Personnel of the Defunct BuCor and
2 
BJMP. -  Any uniformed personnel of the defunct BuCor and BJMP, who shall be
3 
absorbed by the Commission may, upon reaching the age of fifty-six (56) years, retire
4 
in accordance with Republic Act No. 6975 or Republic Act No. 10575. If he/she opts to
5 
remain in the service, he shall be retired in accordance with Government Service
6 
Insurance System (GSIS) Retirement System under Presidential Decree No. 1146, as
7 
amended.
8 
Sec. 17. Retirement Benefits. -  Upon compulsory retirement, any uniformed
9 
officer of the Commission shall be entitled to retirement benefits computed on the
10 
basis of one (1) grade higher than the position last held: Provided, That the retirement
11 
pay shall be subject to adjustment based on the prevailing scale of base pay for
12 
uniformed personnel in the active service.
13 
Sec. 18. Establishment and Maintenance of Prisons, Penal Farms and Jails. -
14 
The existing provincial, sub-provincial, district, city and municipal jails shall continue
15 
to function as such, but under the authority and management of the Commission. The
16 
Commission shall periodically conduct a study of the conditions of these jails, and, if
17 
warranted, 
shall recommend to Congress the establishment of additional or
18 
appropriate jails. The provincial and sub-provincial jails shall 
be the detention
19 
facilities for prisoners serving sentences with penalties of imprisonment for three (3)
20 
years and below. The district, city and municipal jails shall be for detainees, who fail
21 
to post bail and are awaiting sentences.
22 
The national prisons and correctional facilities shall include the existing
23 
national prisons and penal colonies such as the New Bilibid Prison; Correctional
24 
Institution for Women; Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm; Davao Prison and Penal Farm;
25 
Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm; Leyte Regional Prison; and San Ramon Prison and
26 
Penal Farm. Following periodic studies on the conditions of these facilities, the
27 
Commission may recommend to Congress the establishment 
of additional or
28 
appropriate prisons or correctional facilities. These facilities shall be the detention
29 
centers of prisoners who are serving sentences with penalties of imprisonment of at
30 
least three (3) years and one (1) day.
31 
Sec. 19. Regional Correctional Facilities. — The national prisons and penal
32 
farms mentioned in Section 18 are hereby repurposed for use as regional correctional
33 
facilities, without prejudice to the establishment of such additional facilities to be


1 
recommended by the Commission and approved by Congress in appropriate
2 
legislation. These regional facilities shall be established to serve all the administrative
3 
regions in the country, including the National Capital Region (NCR), the Cordillera
4 
Administrative Region (CAR), and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
5 
(ARMM).
6 
Prisoners shall be transferred to the regional facilities nearest their domicile or
7 
prior habitual residence. The rules and guidelines for this disengagement of national
8 
prisons and penal colonies, as well as the transfer of prisoners, shall be issued by the
9 
Commission.
10 
Sec. 20. Power of the Commission to Classify Prisoners, and to Order their
11 
Transfer. -  Upon the effecti\ity of this Act, the Commission shall issue rules and
12 
regulations pertaining to the classification, commitment and transfer of the prisoners
13 
and detainees, taking into account their age, mental health, incorrigibility or
14 
recidivism, nature and gravity of the offense committed, penalty or sentence imposed
15 
on them, and other such circumstances as may assist in determining to which
16 
correctional facility they shall be properly placed, for the purpose of decongesting the
17 
prisons and jails and promoting the welfare and well-being of the persons deprived of
18 
liberty.
19 
Following a set of criteria and defined rules, the Commission may order the
20 
transfer of a prisoner or detainee to another facility considering such circumstances as
21 
the behaviour of the prisoner or detainee, and such other relevant factors as the
22 
security and orderly administration of his/her current place of detention.
23 
Sec. 21. Transition Monitoring Panel. -  A Transition Monitoring Panel shall be
24 
created to be composed of the Secretary of Justice as Chair, and as members, the
25 
Secretaries of the Department of Interior and Local Government and the DBM, the
26 
Chair of the CSC, the Commissioner of the Commission, and the Chairs of the
27 
committees of the Senate and House of Representatives on Justice, Human Rights and
28 
Public Order. The Committee shall oversee the expeditious and efficient
29 
implementation of the transfer to, and absorption by the Commission of the personnel,
30 
properties, finances and records of the BuCor, including the national prisons and penal
31 
farms; of the BJMP, including the existing district, city and municipal jails; and of the
32 
provincial governments pertaining to provincial and sub-provincial jails. The report/s


1 
of the Transition Panel shall be submitted to the Joint Congressional Oversight
2 
Committee, with copies to be furnished to the Secretary of Justice and the Commission.
3 
Sec. 22. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee. -  There is hereby created a
4 
Joint Congressional Oversight Committee to monitor the implementation of this Act.
5 
The Oversight Committee shall be composed of five (5) Senators and five (5)
• 6 Representatives to be appointed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House
7 
of Representatives, respectively. It shall be co-chaired by a Senator and a
8 
Representative to be designated by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House
9 
of Representatives, respectively. Its funding requirement shall be charged against the
10 
appropriations of Congress.
11 
Sec. 23. Implementation. -  The implementation of this Act shall be carried out
12 
in four (4) stages:
13 
a) STAGE I -  Inventory and absorption by the Commission of all personnel,
14 
properties, equipment, records, appropriations, and finances of the
15 
transferred and absorbed offices, to be completed within six (6) months
16 
from the effectivity of this Act.
17 
b) STAGE II -  Recruitment of additional personnel to cover all prisons and
18 
jails, to be completed within six (6) months from effectivity of this Act. To
19 
accomplish the task of Stage II, special funds therefor shall be appropriated
20 
upon the effectivity of this Act.
21 
c) STAGE III -  Approval by the Commission of its organizational structure,
22 
and the preparation and filling up of staffing pattern, to be completed within
23 
twelve (12) months from the effectivity of this Act.
24 
d) STAGE IV -  Conversion of the rank of the uniformed personnel of the
25 
defunct BJMP and BuCor into its equivalent rank/position in the
26 
Commission, and the rationalization of compensation and retirement
27 
systems, taking into consideration the existing compensation schemes and
28 
retirement and separation benefit systems of the transferred and absorbed
29 
offices, to ensure that no employee of the BuCor and BJMP shall suffer any
30 
diminution in basic longevity and incentive pays, allowances and retirement
31 
benefits due them before the creation of the Commission,' to be completed
32 
within (2) years from the effectivity of this Act.
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1 
Upon the effectivity of this Act, the present BuCor, as well as the BJMP, shall
2 
cease to exist. The incumbent Director-General of the defunct BuCor shall act as the
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Commissioner of the Commission until such time as he/she shall have been replaced
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by the President.
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Sec. 24. Funding. -  For purposes of organizing and constituting the
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Commission, and for carrying out the provisions of this Act, the appropriations for the
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current fiscal year of the transferred and abolished offices hereof shall be transferred
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to the Commission. Thereafter, such amounts as may be necessary to carry out the
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provisions of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
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Sec. 25. Implementing Rules and Regulations. -  Within six (6) months from
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the effectivity of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate rules and regulations
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necessary to ensure the effective implementation of this Act.
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Sec. 26. Separability Clause. -  If any portion of this Act is declared
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unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other
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provisions not affected thereby.
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Sec. 27. Repealing Clause. -  All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and
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regulations and other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act
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are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
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Sec. 28. Effectivity. -  This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following
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its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of
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general circulation.
Approved,
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