Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
House Bill No. _____
___________________________________________________________________
Introduced by Representative PABLO JOHN F. GARCIA
___________________________________________________________________
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for
human rights.1 Congress must likewise “give highest priority to the enactment of measures
that protect and enhance the right of all the people to human dignity, [x x x].”2 Article 1 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights also states, “All human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act
towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
It is thus a sorry state of affairs—in the face of these noble proclamations—when we
see the deplorable conditions some of our countrymen experience on a daily basis inside
jails.
Data provided by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in 2018 do
not paint a beautiful picture. As of 31 May 2021, the Philippines’ average jail congestion rate
was at 392% (figure 1 below). The same table shows that with a target of 4.7 square meters
per inmate, we have an excessive variance of 83,552 inmates for facilities designed for only
28,895 in congested jails. There is a mere 0.828 square meters of cell space for each inmate
in congested jails. Other data also show that there are thousands of persons over the age of
sixty, or are nearing it, in our jails (figure 2 below). These conditions have reached
international notoriety.3 Rehabilitation centers and prisons have also become overcrowded.4
Calls have been made to release persons to prevent the spread of Coronavirus Disease
4 Alberto Maretti, Prisons and rehab overcrowding in the Philippines, available at
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2016/12/prisons-rehab-overcrowding-philippines-161207
091046623.html.
3 Aurora Almendral, Where 518 Inmates Sleep in Space for 170, and Gangs Hold it Together,
available at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/07/world/asia/philippines-manila-jail-overcrowding.html.
2 CONST. art. XIII, § 1.
1 CONST. art. II, § 11.
November 22, 2022
12:36 pm
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(Covid-19).5
(figure 1)6
6 Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Data and Statistics, Congestion Rate, captured from
https://www.bjmp.gov.ph/images/data_and_stats/BJMP_Jail_Facility_Congestion_Rate.jpg.
5 Human Rights Watch, Philippines: Reduce Crowded Jails to Stop COVID-19, available at
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/06/philippines-reduce-crowded-jails-stop-covid-19.


(figure 2)7
This bill aims to help address the indignity and health hazards of overcrowding in our
jail system by providing for a national comprehensive monitoring system for persons
deprived of liberty so that measures already in place to provide them their due freedom are
properly effected. It shall also rationalize the administration of justice by being the centralized
hub of data for things such as an inmate’s pending arrest warrants, ongoing cases, and other
useful information.
This computerized database will complement existing social welfare programs and
anti-crime initiatives to keep jail populations low. And while other solutions exist such as the
construction of more jail facilities, we must take advantage of technology and ensure
cost-effective measures, such as this digital network, are taken advantage of in the
upliftment of Filipino life.
Our
criminal
justice system must be compassionate and ensure the proper
reintegration of rehabilitated persons into society. Lives must be redeemed to pursue their
social and economic potential—lives must be empowered so that all Filipinos may attain a
law-abiding and fulfilling existence.
In view of the foregoing, the urgent passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
Rep. PABLO JOHN F. GARCIA
3rd District, Province of Cebu
7 Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Data and Statistics, PDL Age Bracket, captured from
https://www.bjmp.gov.ph/images/data_and_stats/PDL_Age_Bracket.jpg.


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
House Bill No. _____
___________________________________________________________________
Introduced by Representative PABLO JOHN F. GARCIA
___________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL MONITORING SYSTEM FOR PERSONS
DEPRIVED OF LIBERTY IN THE PHILIPPINE JAIL SYSTEM AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
Be it enacted by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Congress of
the Philippines in session assembled:
Section 1.
Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “National PDL
Monitoring System Act”.
Section 2.
Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared that the State
values and affords full respect to the dignity, wellbeing, and human rights of all
people. It is also the policy of the State to be compassionate and ensure that
persons are not unduly deprived of liberty and are properly reintegrated into society.
Furthermore, it is the policy of the State to recognize that people have social and
economic potential—and that it is in the interest of all Filipinos that all persons are
given every opportunity to live lawful and fulfilling lives. Lastly, it is the policy of the
State to recognize the importance of science and technology, particularly secure
computer and network database systems, in the efficient and effective administration
of justice.
Section 3. Definition of Terms. - For the purposes of this Act, the following
terms shall be defined as:
(a) BJMP - Bureau of Jail Management and Penology;
(b) BPP - Board of Pardons and Parole;
(c) BUCOR - Bureau of Corrections;
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(d) DICT - Department of Information and Communications Technology;
(e) DILG - Department of the Interior and Local Government;
(f) DOJ - Department of Justice;
(g) Jail - a detention or correctional facility managed by the BJMP, any law
enforcement agency, or the provincial government mandated by law to
safekeep, develop, and rehabilitate a PDL who is under preventive
imprisonment or who is sentenced to not more than three (3) years of
imprisonment by order of a court of law or competent authority;
(h) NPMS - National PDL Monitoring System;
(i) Networked Institutions - The various courts of the Judiciary, the DOJ,
the BJMP, the BUCOR, the BPP, the PPA, and all other government
institutions,
agencies,
and/or
instrumentalities
charged
with
the
administration and control of a Philippine jail;
(j) PAO - Public Attorney’s Office;
(k) PDL - Person Deprived of Liberty; a person confined in a jail, whether
undergoing preventive imprisonment or serving sentence by reason of
a final judgment of conviction, who is not under the authority of the
BUCOR; and
(l) PPA - Parole and Probation Administration
Section 4. National PDL Monitoring System. - There is hereby established
a national computerized monitoring network for PDLs in all jails.
Section 5. Functions and Purpose of the NPMS. - The system shall have
the following functions and purposes:
(a) It shall be a secure and encrypted digital network system which shall
connect the various courts of the Judiciary, the DOJ, the BJMP, the
BUCOR, the BPP, and PPA, and all other government institutions,
agencies, and/or instrumentalities charged with the administration and
control of a Philippine jail;
(b) It shall serve as a database for all PDLs in the Philippine jail system
and shall contain information about each PDL such as their name,
personal data, biometrics, contact information, medical history and
health concerns, information concerning their detention and arrest,


pending cases, case history/information, case dates/incidents, possible
imposable penalties based on the crime(s) charged, outstanding
warrants, and any other information, which shall be determined by the
NPMS Steering Committee, that are useful in the administration of
justice and in taking care of PDL welfare;
(c) It shall be a system which shall apprise networked institutions of the
following
data
for
prompt
and
appropriate action regarding the
concerned PDL, with a referral for assistance to the PAO if necessary:
(1) Eligibility for release based on Section 13 of Rep. Act No. 8493
or the Speedy Trial Act of 1998 or a denial of the right to a
speedy disposition of their case;
(2) Eligibility for release on recognizance based on Section 5 of
Rep. Act No. 10389 or the Recognizance Act of 2012;
(3) Eligibility for release based on Section 16, Rule 114 of the Rules
on Criminal Procedure;
(4) Eligibility for parole or probation; and
(5) Eligibility for remedy or release based on the Revised Penal
Code or any other law, rule, or procedure, which shall be
determined by the Network Steering Committee, such as, but
not limited to Credit for Preventive Imprisonment, Good Conduct
Time Allowance, Time Allowance for Teaching, Studying, and
Mentoring, and Special Time Allowance for Loyalty.
(d) It shall incorporate existing network systems designed for PDLs and
shall be integrated with the system created by Section 5(g) of Rep.
Act No. 10575 or the Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013 so far as it
may serve the provisions and policies of this Act; and
(e) Any other function or purpose assigned to it by the NPMS Steering
Committee, which are consistent and not contrary to the provisions
and policies of this Act.
Section 6. NPMS Steering Committee. - There is hereby established a
Steering Committee composed of the following members:
(a) Secretary of the DILG, as Chairperson;
(b) Secretary of the DOJ; and


(c) Secretary of the DICT
And representatives from:
(a) The Supreme Court
(b) The National Privacy Commission
(c) PAO
(d) BJMP
(e) BUCOR
(f) BPP
(g) PPA
Section 7. Functions of the Steering Committee. - The Steering Committee
shall:
(a) Develop and implement the NPMS in fulfillment of the provisions and
policies of this Act;
(b) Detail the permissible purposes and uses which may be undertaken by
networked institutions in using the NPMS, guided by the principles
enunciated in this Act;
(c) Prescribe what pieces of information and interface the NPMS shall
contain and display;
(d) Monitor and require compliance from networked institutions with
respect to the policies, guidelines, and standards prescribed by the
Steering Committee;
(e) Conduct periodic reviews of the administration, operation, policies,
rules, and regulations governing the NPMS and update the same in
order to reflect contemporary best practices and standards;
(f) Ensure
that
all
government
institutions,
agencies,
and/or
instrumentalities charged with the administration and control of a
Philippine jail shall have access and are able to utilize the NPMS; and


(g) Perform other functions germane or related to the above-mentioned
primary functions and the declared policies of this Act.
Section 8. Features of the NPMS. - The NPMS shall hereby reflect the
following features:
(a) PDL safety and privacy;
(b) Data security and encryption;
(c) Excellent database structure and network framework;
(d) Comprehensiveness;
(e) Up-to-date data;
(f) Excellent user experience and user interface;
(g) Ease of data exchange;
(h) Economical use of budget and resources;
(i) Intelligibility;
(j) Correctness;
(k) Dependability;
(l) Efficiency;
(m) Adaptability;
(n) Interoperability and Wide-compatibility; and
(o) Any other standard or quality that will be set by the NPMS Steering
Committee, which shall be consistent with this Act.
Section 9. Lead Developer. - The DICT shall be the lead agency tasked with
the design, development, implementation, maintenance, and improvement of the
NPMS.
Section 10. Penalties. - Any violation as regards the use of the NPMS shall
be punished by law and/or Rep. Act No. 10173, or “the Data Privacy Act of 2012”,
when applicable.


Section 11. Appropriations.
-
The
amount
necessary
for
the
initial
implementation of this Act shall be sourced from the current appropriations of the
networked institutions. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the continued
implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations
Act.
Section 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The NMPS Steering
Committee shall convene within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act
and shall promulgate the necessary implementing rules and regulations within six (6)
months thereafter.
Section 13. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, proclamations,
rules, regulations and other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with
the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.
Section 14. Separability Clause. - If any part or provision of this Act is held
unconstitutional or invalid, other parts or provisions thereof which are not affected
shall continue to remain in full force and effect.
Section 15. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following
completion of its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Approved,